His 13th apostolic visit outside Italy took Benedict XVI to the Czech Republic. Hope was the milestone of this apostolic pilgrimage, which bore the theme “The Love of Christ is our strength”. How did the Holy Father present hope to the Czech people?
It needs to be said that this journey was a papal “mission in the heart of Europe”. In his analysis of this international apostolic journey during his weekly audience of 30 September, Benedict XVI said that his pilgrimage to the Czech Republic was a mission “because Europe needs to find God again and in his love, the firm foundation of hope”. Hope for the European continent solely rests in rediscovering its past solid Christian foundations in order that it can better orient and organise itself for the future. In his ecumenical meeting of Sunday, 27 September, the Pope said: “As Europe listens to the story of Christianity, she hears her own. Her notions of justice, freedom and social responsibility, together with the cultural and legal institutions established to preserve these ideas and hand them on to future generations, are shaped by her Christian inheritance. Indeed, her memory of the past animates her aspirations for the future.” Thus, Europe ’s future lies in evolving its Christian past.
By being at the centre of the European continent, the Czech territory has always been a place of encounter of various cultures. Amid its difficulties, such a meeting marked the various phases of Czech history with positive results. For instance, in the 9th century, the Moravian region was evangelised by Cyril and Methodius, who brought the Byzantine culture to the country as well as introducing the Cyrillic language and the Byzantine liturgy in the Slavic language. On the other hand, in Bohemia, the dioceses close to Regensburg and Passau brought the Gospel of Christ through the Latin language, thus promoting the Roman-Latin culture. Another meeting between the Gospel and the world of culture took place when Clement VI established the renowned Charles University in 1347 in Prague. As the Pope explained during the press conference he gave on his flight to the Czech Republic, on 26 September, “the university is in itself a place of the meeting of cultures; in this case it becomes, furthermore, a place of meeting between the Slavic and German-speaking cultures”. The point that the Roman Pontiff highlighted was that the natural vocation of the Czech land is that of being a country of dialogue, thereby accentuating the reality that hope is instilled and kept alive by means of continual dialogue.
In his first address at the Stará Ruzynì International Airport in Prague, Benedict XVI stated that real hope is found only in God. Quoting from his recent encyclical letter Caritate in Veritate, the Bishop of Rome boldly affirmed that “without God, man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is” (p 78). The two healthy channels that help the human person recognise and advance his real progress are faith and reason. “The authentic progress of humanity is best served by just such a combination of the wisdom of faith and the insights of reason”.
Hope is also found in the correct way of understanding freedom. In the address given to the civil and political authorities and the members of the diplomatic corps, the Holy Father equated hope with the genuine search for truth. “Freedom seeks purpose: it requires conviction. True freedom presupposes the search for truth – for the true good – and hence finds its fulfilment precisely in knowing and doing what is right and just. Truth, in other words, is the guiding norm for freedom, and goodness is freedom’s perfection”.
The cultural and spiritual character of the Czech Republic, placed as it is in the heart of Europe, is undoubtedly Christian. “Christian roots have nourished a remarkable spirit of forgiveness, reconciliation and cooperation that has enabled the people of these lands to find freedom and to usher in a new beginning, a new synthesis, a renewal of hope. Is it not precisely this spirit that contemporary Europe requires?”
The Church is to engage herself in consolidating the spiritual and moral values of today’s society. In his address to men and women religious, seminarians and members of lay movements, Benedict XVI said that the Church should bring Christ, the only hope, everywhere. “Catholic schools should foster respect for the human person; attention should also be given to the pastoral care of young people outside the school environment, without neglecting other groups of the faithful. Christ is for everyone!” The Pope echoed the same appeal during his homily at Tuøany Airport in Brno: “Only Christ can be our certain hope. This is the message that we Christians are called to spread every day, through our witness”.
While everyone is the bearer of this hope, the Pope’s speeches specifically single out children and young people as the special ambassadors of hope. When visiting the Holy Infant of Prague, the Pope affirmed that children are the hope of society. He stressed that “children always be accorded the respect and attention that are due to them: they are the future and the hope of humanity!” Whereas in his address on the Esplanade on the Way to Melnik, Stará Boleslav, the Holy Father encouraged young people with the following words: “Hope! This word, to which I often return, sits particularly well with youth. You, my dear young people, are the hope of the Church! She expects you to become messengers of hope”.
May the recent international journey of Pope Benedict XVI to the Czech Republic serve to re-ignite in us Europeans a renewed commitment to “remain open to the beauty of God’s creation and our minds to the beauty of his truth” so as to “hope to remain young and to build a world that reflects something of that divine beauty, so as to inspire future generations to do likewise” (Farewell Ceremony Speech at Stará Ruzynì International Airport in Prague, 28 September).
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap