Birds of a feather flock together

Brussels-based Marie-Claire Bonavia on a visit to the European institutions by members of the Taizé community

Members of the ecumenical community of Taizé, with their prior Br Alois, left their humble village in France for a hectic day in the European institutions on January 31.

Apart from meeting the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the Speaker of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, the highlights of the day was from 8 to 8.45 a.m., when they spent time in prayer with people working in the European institutions, at lunchtime for an exchange of views, and four workshops around the theme "Your life is important for Europe."

Another highlight was evening prayer at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula with the participation of Cardinal Danneels and other Christian confessions. The cathedral was packed.

It is hard to understand what connection the Taizé community has with the European Union and what this humble community came to do at this institution in Brussels on January 31. Surely there is more to it than meets the eye.

Both Taizé and the EU are peppered with people from various nations and also various Christian denominations. Both have their roots in reconciliation.

Br Alois, who was chosen by Br Roger to succeed him as prior of Taizé before the latter was killed in 2005, explains:

"There should not be a separate world between how the European institutions understand their commitment to Europe and how we at Taizé feel about it. The EU is geared for unity by various communities. In the one-week sessions held for youths between February and November we in Taizé see how important it is to listen to each other and not to answer too quickly. He recalls how he learnt not to accept borders and boundaries in Taizé, to not make many plans built on prejudices before stepping out to build personal relationships. Reconciliation, so important for Fr Roger, is one of the cornerstones of Taizé, a little village in war-torn France that welcomed both Jews and other refugees in the Forties.

Europe - open the ways of trust

"For believers, the assurance they have in themselves, in others and in the love of God go together," said Br Alois. "Notwithstanding our different denominations it is in Christ that we find our motivation for communion."

The three key points of Br Alois' short but distinct message, cutting like a double-edged sword, were unity, reconciliation, and opening Europe to other continents.

In Europe, Christians also have the vocation to express by their way of life that unity can never be created without forgiveness. Although secularised, our societies cannot go forward without forgiveness. Though we live in peace today, many forms of resentment still linger. It takes very little for fires that we thought had been put out, to flare up once again.

So I would like to repeat here what a man with great international responsibilities said a few years ago: "We can contribute a great deal to peace by refusing to transmit to the next generation the memory of wounds we have endured."

This does not mean forgetting a painful past, but the Gospel call us to go beyond our memories by forgiving, to interrupt the chain that causes humiliations to persist. Without forgiveness, without trust, there is no future either for Europe or for the whole of the human family."

Berta, a young Protestant from northern Germany, says that it was thanks to her experience in Taizé in 1989 that she was now working in the EU. It helped her meet people of other denominations and of other cultures. Although Taizé as an experience is very different to the very bureaucratic system that is the EU, she exhorted the Europeans there "not to forget the vision of the foundation of how the EU was built".

A young Albanian Orthodox shared his experience of how he saw the fruits of reconciliation in practice while organising a meeting in Zagreb. This brought together Orthodox, Catholics, Serbs, Croatians and Albanians - all with their history.

The Secretary General of COMECE (the Confederation of European Bishops' Conferences), Mgr Treanor, who organised the event, said that the EU "upholds values which we as Christians not only uphold but which inspire us in our daily life".

Br Alois said that had it not been for the EU to build bridges we would not have thought of coming to the institutions.

In reply to those who try to create unity by trying to remove the Judeo-Christian thread from our culture or any religious influence at that from our culture, the reply was that "we in Europe today concentrate too much on the economic and the political. We forget the spiritual dimension. We forget the most beautiful part of life. It does not mean that we concentrate on the technical articles of faith. This is the soul of Europe we are talking of. We have no problem accepting human rights but we are forgetting about the dignity of the whole person."

One participant said that "we did not leave our administrative fold by attending these meetings with Taizé. On the other hand, we expanded ourselves to the richness of humanity. Silence is essential for creativity. It is silence that brought us together and reminds us of the mystery of immortality. As Christians we cannot accept division but to find ways to overcome and go live with the people on the other side."

Asked if the reference in the preamble to the Christian heritage would have any significance for the young, Br Alois said: "Yes and no. However, surely as soon as they would read it they would feel the importance of the content."

He concluded: "We have to renew our responsibility towards the young because they have to create the Europe that we did not create. We know that the young do not see the need for institutions but by us coming to the EU we would to help them see the positive side of institutions."

His final note was: "From Europe we have to open ways of trust toward the world - more peace, more justice. I believe the youths in Taizé have done that..." What about the EU one automatically adds?

At the end of this meeting the book Hidden in the Host, recently launched in Malta, containing prayers, reflections and photographs of the Blessed Sacrament from 32 states in Europe, was presented to Fr Alois. His comment was: "Ah, Malta, I believe it is still so rich in its faith!"

www.taize.fr/en