“On Wednesday evening, we will come together in prayer once again to invoke the gift of reconciliation and make a heartfelt appeal for peace,” announced Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, at the opening of the General Assembly of Italian Bishops in Assisi, which will end on 20 November with the attendance of Pope Leo XIV.
“May the Church help Italians feel less polarized, less isolated and lonely, in short, more like a people”,
was the hope expressed by the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, who began with a “thought of gratitude” to the Holy Father and went on to summarize the “cornerstones” of the first six months of his pontificate, which he characterized as “a teaching of unity and peace.” In a society where “neighbours are fewer than in the past” and those who are distant have increased, with a distance that is no longer hostility but “indifference”, we must realize that “the end of Christianity does not mark the disappearance of faith”.
“While Christendom may be over, Christianity certainly is not”:
We must not be afraid, but renew our commitment to being joyful witnesses of the Risen One. We must not become mediocre or fearful, nor afraid of fatherhood or of taking on responsibility; rather, we must become more evangelical and Christian. The modern believer is not the guardian of a Christian world, but a pilgrim carrying hope into the hearts of others.”
It is in this condition of “vulnerability” that the Church rediscovers its strength, is Zuppi’s thesis: “Not the strength of power, which is often presumed in reconstructions of the Church’s relevance, but the strength of love that gives itself without fear.”
“We have no political ambitions or desire to gain positions of power,”
he clarified, removing any ambiguity: “We must not please anyone or any political force, nor do we seek to gain consensus.” “We can only ask for a lot of political love, especially from those who are inspired by the beautiful and very human social doctrine of the Church,” continued the cardinal: “We are motivated only by our love for the good of the Italian people, for the whole world, for our people, despite all our personal limitations.” “In a society that is becoming increasingly fragmented, the Church must never cease to be a people,” he said, pointing the way forward, because “even in a small community there is great strength”.
Following in the footsteps of Pope Francis and Pope Leo, we must embody a Church that walks with the poor and that also leads us to “revisit our institutions, works, structures and associations in order to avoid stooping to humanitarian or corporate models”, a warning that goes hand in hand with the call to return to the basics. In the city of St Francis, we must learn to live the Gospel ‘sine glossa’, as he did, because only then does faith become contagious. The Council teaches us that what is contagious is also this style that at least 500,000 people have experienced during the four-year Synodal Journey of the Churches in Italy, which is based on listening, discernment and prophecy.” Among the proposals for the future is
“initiating a reflection on the possible revision of the CEI Statute itself.”
Furthermore, synodality and collegiality imply the primacy of a Church of ‘us’: “A living community is always a prophecy in our individualistic times,” and today “one of the deepest forms of poverty that man can experience is loneliness”.
Parishes, in particular, “must always remain open to all types of believers and to all who seek God: they are like the square in front of the church,
where there must be no limited or conditional access, because many people from different backgrounds often come here,” including many “spiritually homeless.” “In a society that is becoming increasingly fragmented, the Church must never cease to be a community,” he recommended, because “even in a small community there is great strength”:
“We have come a long way in recent years, and we have not been afraid to start this journey nor to continue along it”,
was the Italian Church’s assessment of its efforts to prevent abuse. “Tomorrow, 18 November, marks the fifth National Day of Prayer, established by the Italian Episcopate to acknowledge the mistakes that have been made and to commit to healing the wounds of those who have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of abuse. We too will celebrate this prayer together during Vespers,” he announced. Regarding the protection of minors, the cardinal also stated that
“training remains a rigorous and constant commitment: in the two-year period 2023-2024, approximately 43,000 people attended and completed training.
To be sure, there are still gray areas and resistance, but we are keenly aware of a constant movement aimed at strengthening trust, amplifying respect, welcoming and listening to victims, and safeguarding the dignity of each member of God’s people.”
“Let us relaunch a project of encounter and collaboration in the spirit of solidarity between Europe and the Mediterranean,
following the fortunate intuition of Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti,” was the tribute paid by the president of the CEI: “Accepting the invitation of Pope Leo XIV during the audience with the Council of Mediterranean Youth (5 September 2025), we would like to continue on this path,” assured Zuppi, speaking of the fundamental contribution that Europe, with its historical memories, can make to the architecture of peace.
“We must not lose focus on tormented Ukraine”,
was the final appeal. “In a world that is stirring, the Europe of Christian churches still exists and lives,” the cardinal assured: “We say that the human person, no matter how fragile, weak, dying or unborn, is central to our humanism.” “Let us think about a future meeting on Europe,” drawing on the thinking of Romano Guardini, the president of the CEI concluded.
