Both Sides of Unity

The entrance in Venice of the new Patriarch. Presented here are excerpts from the addresses by Msgr Angelo Scola in his first meeting “with the sons and daughters of the diocese ‘shared by the East and the West,’” March 3, 2002

On arrival in Mira
Let us reflect together on what is happening to us now. By our beloved Holy Father’s decision, a man like me, whom you do not know, whom you have never met in person, whom maybe you have never seen in a photograph, and who knows something about your land only marginally, is suddenly inserted into your life and you are asked to love him. The same thing is asked of him. Humanly speaking, it seems like an impossible undertaking, harder than sailing up the Brenta on a stormy day…! And it really would be, if it depended only on my and your strength and abilities. But precisely this is the miracle of God’s Church a miracle that Jesus, who died and rose for us, makes possible. Let us think a little about what happens under the cross of Jesus. I am referring to that beautiful dialogue which He holds with His Mother Mary and John: “Mother, here is your son,” “Son, here is your mother.” And the Evangelist concludes by saying that John took Mary into his own house.

Under the Cross, a new kinship is born; in other words, a new fatherhood, a new motherhood, a new way of being brothers and sisters: strong ties, much stronger than those of flesh and blood. This is the Church, this is happening to us today. It is happening between you and me…

Why a new Patriarch? What sense does this new arrival have for you, for me, for all the inhabitants of Venice on land and sea? His purpose is one alone: to witness that loving in Jesus Christ, ie, living this new kinship, generates a people, a holy people of God. A people in which each one is at home, within which to be born, grow up, be educated, study, work, love, marry, generate, engage in society–starting with the poorest and most outcast–interact harmoniously with the environment, develop a taste for beauty, and even to suffer, struggle, and die, is by far the most fascinating, and–why not?–the most “advantageous,” way to live.

In the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Mestre
God the Father, through the Spirit of His Son who died and rose again to redeem our persons, calls us to build together this people which He wants to be holy. This, my friends, is what awaits us! It is certainly an undertaking that is greater than our own strength, in itself frail and often wounded by sin, but with God’s help and by the intercession of Our Lady of Victory and St Lawrence, not an impossible one, because “nothing is impossible for God.” In any case, the Christian adventure is a fascinating one, because, as is testified by the brisk industriousness and intelligent synthesis of faith and charity evident in this land, it is able to take on all that is human. It is passionate about every individual and the community as a whole. It does not consider faith to be a private, abstract aspect of existence, the holy people of God. While respecting variety and difference, it is passionate about the unity that alone, in the end, can bring forth peace and afford–despite frailties, personal sin, and social contradictions–a dignified and industrious life.

Reply to the greetings of the authorities on the dock in San Marco
From the beginning–as is well documented by the teaching of Jesus–Christians give legitimate authority respect and constructive attention. When it is legitimately constituted, “there is no authority except from God” (Rom 13:1), St Paul reminds us in his Letter to the Romans. The long tradition of the Church’s Magisterium reiterates this conviction. And John Paul II takes it up again when, in Redemptor hominis, he states that “the rights of power can only be understood on the basis of respect for the objective and inviolable rights of man” (RH 17). Thus it is not difficult for Christians, in freedom, to go along with the action of an authority like this! We defer to the representatives of civil order when they respect the ultimately divine origin of their power, serving the people making objective reference to the law of God.

Precisely by virtue of this conception of authority, my thanks cannot but be explicitly extended, through you, to the entire people you represent. For God has used this people in order to locate in your persons the legitimate constituted authority. How can we fail to take note of the popular origins of your power right here, in Venice, the city of liberty? One characteristic reveals its peculiar physiognomy: Venetian civilization is a civilization in which differences are not merely tolerated, but are prized in a symphonic whole.

This Venetian style, whose proper subject is its people, is certainly no stranger to the experience of Christian faith! Its ability to generate unity between men of the land and of the sea, from the first moment of the foundation of the ecclesial community in our lands on the lagoon, is well known. Faith has fostered the great undertaking of assimilating the new peoples that one after the other came here from the East, the West, the North, melding together their traditions and customs...

Thus it is historically impossible to separate, in these lands of ours, the holy people of God–whom Paul VI brilliantly called “almost an ethnic group sui generis”–from the people as such. To this holy people of God, nothing is extraneous, because one who has been called by Christ has been called to freedom, and in freedom lies the root of a comparison and a welcome without limitations… The tasks and responsibilities that this “world city” bears on its shoulders are and will continue to be–just as they have been through all these centuries–the needs and tasks also of Christians. In this way, we shall all contribute together to building peace in the course mapped out by the “far-sighted pax venetiana.”

This peace today–after the grievous events that have occurred, starting with September 11th–needs the work of each and every one. Aware, nonetheless, that not everything is in our power, we invoke it incessantly from Jesus Christ, the One who is rightly called “our peace” (cf Eph 2:14).

From the homily in the Patriarchal Basilica of San Marco
The ancient authors of the mosaics have masterfully presented, in the Samaritan woman’s delicate stretching out toward Jesus, the first move of human freedom. Each of us recognizes it very well: it is called desire. Every day, pressed by the needs that crowd our hearts–the thirst of which the Evangelist speaks–we go looking for something that can satisfy them–water, for which the woman comes to the well. But every need is always traversed by an even greater yearning. At its root, it contains a relentless urge toward fulfillment, and thus the need crosses over into desire. We yearn for something that lasts forever. “The water I will give you will quench your thirst forever”and the woman is irresistibly attracted by this promise made her by Jesus. Even when this desire remains buried under the weight of human frailty and, by leaning on a widespread mentality, seems to lose its true physiognomy, it is impossible to quench the thirst completely. In this sense, every man of every time, we who are here now, in the basilica, all the friends who are listening to us in the square or at home–are stretching, like the Samaritan woman, toward Someone. Desire sets freedom in motion. And when freedom is at work, man enters into relationship with the other…

Dear friends, from the dawn of the Christian era, through the centuries unceasingly, the gift of holy Baptism has vested entire generations all the way to us who are living today in this splendid land, a marvelous synthesis of nature and culture, tireless crossroads of men and peoples. Jesus Christ, generating faith in us by the efficacious sign of Baptism, has led us to this Eucharist that now brings us physically together. Nothing like faith brings together, holds, and strengthens the desire for freedom, fostering that progressive change of the “I” that leads it to fulfillment. The crescendo of the intense dialogue between Jesus and the woman shows this process very well. He lovingly dispels every misunderstanding until finally, at the Samaritan’s final attempt to escape from the grip of His Person, she says, “I know that the Messiah [that is, Christ] is coming; when He comes He will tell us everything,” and Jesus nails her to the evidence: “I am He who is talking to you.” “I in flesh and blood,” “I who stand in front of you.” Not a generic “when He comes,” but a categorical “I, here and now.”

Jesus offers Himself with the same force to each of us in the extraordinary circumstance that brings us together today: “I, here and now.”…

May each of us have the simplicity to recognize Him and thus the opportunity to rediscover the unparalleled beauty of being Christians! Paul, in the passage we read today from the Letter to the Romans, describes it in these terms: “Justified by faith, we are at peace with God.” From faith, the concrete way of living for the person and the community, comes the gift of peace with God, from which nothing, not even our frailty and our sin, can separate us. In the sweet forgiveness of Jesus Christ every care, every worry is vanquished: the future is all held within the certain hope of the full revelation of a Father’s face…

Jesus touches the heart of this woman and sets her out on the road to forever. The change is immediate and is documented by her rushing off to share the good news. To run faster, she leaves her pitcher behind. The same thing happens to us when we come upon a person who authentically testifies the truth. An irresistible urgency rises from this–to tell others about it. In this way the fascinating experience of human freedom is enacted: the more the truth is given to you personally, the more you are urged to communicate why and how it engaged you. You become a co-protagonist of history. And thus the truth, confirmed and reinforced by the beautiful, spreads the good…

He, communicating Himself person by person, along all the history of Venice of the land and of the sea, has come all the way to us. He lives in the midst of us priests and deacons, religious, and lay faithful of every age and condition. In the families, the parishes, associations, movements, and groups, in all our communities, He proposes Himself perennially to the freedom of every person, no matter what race, religion, conviction, culture, social class, or condition. We want to be for everyone a humble witness of His unique Person. Following in the path of Jesus’ invitation to the Apostles, which we heard in today’s Gospel: “I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (Jn 4:38).

From his words of thanks in San Marco, after the Holy Mass
At the end of this sacramental gesture, I cannot avoid expressing some due word of thanks.

Firstly, I thank His Holiness John Paul II. The fatherhood with which He accompanies the Church of God that is in Venice and that is at the origin of this my mission as well, makes it even more impelling for me–but certainly for all of you too–to imitate the witness of the Successor of Peter, charged with innovative magisterium and an extraordinary vision of man and of history. I am therefore grateful to the pontifical representative His Excellency Paolo Romeo, Apostolic Nuncio in Italy and San Marino, who has wanted to participate personally in this sacramental gesture.

To Patriarch Marco Cé, who by embracing my person and handing me the crozier, symbol of the service I am about to undertake, has objectively introduced me into the succession of the patriarchs of Venice, I wish to repeat all my heartfelt appreciation. This extends also to the friendship and comfort that, I am certain, he will give to me as he continues to live among us in this his Venice that–as I have had the chance to see on numerous occasions during these few days–loves him by now as one of its most illustrious sons.

I am grateful to His Excellency Eugenio Ravignani, Bishop of Trieste and Vice-president of the Tri-veneto Episcopal Conference, who explicitly brought me the collegial affection of the Bishops of the three regions. I am grateful also to the prelates of the organs of the Holy See present today, with whom I collaborated in these years of ministry in Rome: Cardinal Edmund Szoka, Their Excellencies Josef Cordes, Gianni Danzi, Marc Ouellet, and the representatives of the Secretariat of State. Within this reference to the universal Church, I am particularly touched at being able to include in my thanks my brothers in the episcopate who, representing some Churches with historical ties to Venice, have chosen to honor our Church and our city with their presence. Although the Archbishop of Vienna, our dear friend Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, was blocked at the last minute by the train strike, present today are His Excellency Jan Sokol, Archbishop of Bratislava; His Excellency Marin Barisic, Archbishop of Split; His Excellency Metod Pirih, Bishop of Capodistria; and His Excellency Tadeusz Pieronek, Bishop Rector of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, who also brought the greetings of the Church in Krakow. As in the past, so in the future, Venice can count on their closeness. Heartfelt thanks go to the representatives of other Christian confessions who are here today: the Archimandrite of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Pastor of the Methodist Valdese Church, a Lutheran theologian, the Chaplain of the Anglican community. To all men of religion, especially to the sons of Abraham, who in various capacities have made their presence known on this occasion, I state the common conviction that God accompanies the path of all those who want peace…

Allow me now to express my thankfulness to the realities represented here, through which Divine Providence has led me in these years.

How could I not begin with the Parish of San Leonardo in Malgrate, the town where I was born, and Lecco? Thank you to all the Lecchesi. A special thought goes to my parents, my late brother, my family, the priests and friends. In a word, all those who have marked me from early childhood to my youth, transmitting to me, almost by osmosis, the faith that, by pure grace, has been since the cradle as natural to me as breathing. How could I not mention among these people at least the late Fr Fausto Tuissi, who opened my mind, when I was still a young child, to Jesus, also through reading and art?

Thanking Msgr Luigi Giussani, from whom the first Gioventù Studentesca group was born, in its Milanese version, and then Communion and Liberation, means acknowledging with joy and deep emotion, in front of everyone, that he taught me to live faith wide open to all the dimensions of the world and, grabbing me away from the risk of youthful bewilderment and a falling back on fragile generosity, made me capable of welcoming my vocation to the priesthood. I thank him directly and through the international Responsibles of the Movement who are here in this basilica. These forceful expressions of the Ambrosian land reveal my great debt to the Archdiocese of Milan. I thank their shepherd, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, who so amiably referred to my Ambrosian character in his public greetings.

I thank His Excellency Franco Agostinelli, Bishop of Grosseto, the mayor, and all the delegation here from Grosseto…

At the Pontificia Università Lateranense and the Istituto Giovanni Paolo II, I pursued more deeply the Catholic dimension of the Church: I “learned a little Rome.” Led by the Rector and Principal, Msgr Rino Fisichella–explicit bearer of the close presence of the Grand Chancellor, Cardinal Camillo Ruini–the deans, principals, secretary general, and representatives of the incorporated institutes and of the staff and students, delegates from academic institutes connected with the university in various ways, from all the continents, are present here, some at great sacrifice. I wish to mention specifically Msgr Paul Matar, Maronite Archbishop of Beirut, Lebanon; His Excellency Gyorgy Jakubinyi, Archbishop of Alba Iulia; His Excellency Javier Martinez, Bishop of Cordoba, Spain; His Excellency Petru Gherghel, Bishop of Iasi, Romania; His Excellency Maksymilian Dubraswki, Auxiliary Bishop of Kaminec Podolshi, Ukraine; the Supreme Knight of Columbus Dr Carl Anderson; and the representatives of the Centers of Melbourne, Antony Fischer of Changanacherry, of Ghent, Mexico City, Lugano… With great pleasure I extend my gratitude to the representatives of the Associazione Internazionale Lateranense, led by their president, and all the members of the council of the Civitas Lateranensis foundation, as also to the superiors of the Collegio Lateranense. Because of their connection with the University I gladly include in my thanks my brothers in the episcopate, His Excellency Tharcisse Tshibangu, Bishop of Mbujimayi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and His Excellency Filippo Santoro, Auxiliary Bishop of Rio de Janiero. And I also thank, in the person of Msgr Ambrogio Spreafico, President of the Comitato delle Pontificie Università Romane, all the academic institutions in Rome with whom I have worked together in these years.

And, even if I shall end up forgetting many others, I certainly cannot forget His Excellency Abele Conigli and the Diocese of Teramo, who welcomed me in 1969. Their representatives are here, led by their Bishop, His Excellency Antonio Nuzzi.

A cordial greeting goes to my Swiss friends in the Canton Ticino and beyond the Gotthard Pass, with whom I shared some beautiful years. Bound by memory to the late Bishop of Lugano, Eugenio Corecco, I thank you all, in particular the Abbot of Hauterive, Fr Mauro Giuseppe Lepori, who is present here.