(Sir Europe - Brussels) - “The Contribution of Spirituality and Ethics Towards a Sustainable Economic Order”: this was the theme of the meeting held yesterday evening, 23 May, in Brussels, in the premises of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), which organised the event in cooperation with the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Keynote speakers at the meeting included Mgr. André-Joseph Léonard, Archbishop of the diocese of Brussels-Malines, and Edy Korthals Altes, Ambassador Emeritus of the Netherlands. The debate was moderated by Secretary General of COMECE Mgr. Piotr Mazurkiewicz. Reflections focused on the question, posed by COMECE Secretary, of “whether the lack of spirituality may be considered as one of the underlying causes of the crisis (economic, social, political, demographic…) affecting Europe today”. “We are witnessing the failure of the neoliberal system”, Ambassador Korthals Altes pointed out, “but the crisis is more profound, it is rooted in a disoriented society, in which we experience distorted relations between man, nature and resources, due to the loss of the sense of transcendence”. This points to “evident ethical factors: absence of morality and integrity also and above all in the political and economic elite” but also “the need to reconsider our spiritual foundations so as to rediscover the creative relation with the origins of our existence”. (continued)

In order to rediscover the sense of the transcendent, “Christian Churches need, on the one hand, to perform a self-critique to understand if what they say reflects their deepest nature and if their language can be understood. On the other hand, they need to open themselves to cooperation with those who describe themselves as non-believers or non-religious so as to face the crisis together and make commitments for a sustainable future”, Altes explained. “Only by combining ethics with spirituality can we find the way to overcome disorientation”. “I was born into a poor family. I have never known my father who died ten days after my birth. He was a trade unionist committed to the protection of the rights of workers in the railway sector”, Mgr. André-Joseph Léonard said. “This is why, if I had not become a priest, I would have dedicated myself to politics, seen as a search for the common good”. “When the search for profit and market laws are deified, there is a problem. However, the common good has nothing to do with collectivism and individualism; it requires sacrifices on the part of the individual, bearable sacrifices, because it is aimed at the promotion of every human being”. (continued)

“The Universal Declaration on Human Rights is a milestone because it represents the acknowledgement - not the concession - by politicians of inborn rights. Likewise, we have to acknowledge that there is an ideal order, underlying reality, that comes before the political, economic and social order”, the archbishop of Brussels-Malines said. In this search “spirituality, which is openness to transcendence, plays an essential role”. Mgr. Léonard went on to say: “There exist many forms of spirituality, but Christian spirituality has the peculiarity to believe in an Incarnate God” in which the transcendent dimension and the dimension of human existence meet. In his speech he stressed that “trust in God and trust in man are both necessary and are profoundly united although we express them in different ways”. “If we were able to maintain the vertical dimension, we would recognise other values, beyond the material sphere, and would be able to develop a more mature economic and development model”, said the ambassador echoing the archbishop’s words. (continued)

Answering the questions of Kristine Jansone (EWCE) and Marie-Caroline Leroux (WYA), representing two international ecumenical youth organisations, about how Christians can commit themselves to changing the current situation, Mgr. Léonard made an appeal: “Get involved in politics! Consider a political career! Because politics is a great form of charity, it is service to society”. Ambassador Altes, for his part, stressed the importance of “individual awareness” and the need to “keep well informed about what is going on”. He related his experience as a diplomat during the Cold War, when he was ambassador to Spain. He said that he resigned from his office because he could not accept, in conscience, the silence of the government of his county in the face of the dramatic prospects opened by the US arms-race policy. His decision to resign was followed by a strong commitment to peace and security in various international organisations.