Last October 20th in Rome, the presentation of the book by Fr. Giussani, Fr. Stefano Alberto (also known as Fr. Pino), and Javier Prades, Generare tracce nella storia del mondo (published by Rizzoli) was held. The encounter was organized by CL's International Center in Rome and by Rizzoli Libri, in collaboration with the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Speaking about the book to a crowd gathered in a room of the Istituto Augustinianum were Bishop Crescenzio Sepe, Secretary of the Jubilee Committee, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, and the two priests who are co-authors of the book.
The presentation took place on the occasion of the Bishops' Synod for Europe. Those present included Cardinal Simonis, Archbishops Saraiva Martins, Costanzo, Toppo, Frank, Rylko, Bozanic, Kapellari, and Pujats, Bishops Carderón Polo, Danzi, Justs, and Komarica, as well as Msgr. Broglio of the Vatican Secretariat of State, attorney Carriquiry, Dr. De Paolis and Dr. Lobkowicz, and some ambassadors to the Holy See.
The evening event was introduced by Jesus Carrascosa with a few brief words, "Father Giussani, with whom I spoke this morning, thanks everyone for the opportunity to describe-on the occasion of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Europe and on the eve of the Jubilee-the contents of an experience offered to the people of our times who are seeking, no matter how confusedly, the traces of a path for living this tragic and beautiful epoch with some reasonable hope. And the Christian event is precisely the answer that everyone awaits, even if so many seem to be against it."
Fr. Pino and Prades described the birth and contents of the book, which gathers the most recent fruits of Fr. Giussani's reflections on the Christian experience lived in the face of the challenges of the contemporary world.
We publish here excerpts from the introductory remark made by Cardinal Schönborn.


Schönborn
Archbishop of Vienna

"I do not understand very well your ideas and your methods, but I see the results and I say to you: go ahead like this." These were Cardinal Montini's words to Fr. Giussani when he was Archbishop of Milan. Years later, after he became Pope, Montini met Giussani again in 1975, and said again, "Go ahead like this, this is the path." I do not know if I have understood all of Fr. Giussani's ideas, but I see one thing, which is the visible traces of this journey, of this march: "Go ahead."
Before I knew his ideas I knew his friendship. At Freiburg, when I was a young professor in that same year of 1975, I met a colleague-whom I want to remember here today, Eugenio Corecco, of the Faculty of Theology-and with him a group of students, a surprising community. He was a professor living with his students in an open house, with the warmth of friendship, for me so essential at an existential, but also a theological level. St. Thomas Aquinas made this a cornerstone of his Summa theologica: charity, the sum of all the virtues, forma virtutum, the essence of all of Christian life, of all of human life, truly human and blessed, happy. This life is a friendship: amor amicitiae. Before knowing Fr. Giussani's writings I knew some of his friends, who became friends of mine, traces that this remarkable priest has generated in the history of our lives. How good was the repose in the dinners filled with good feeling, friendship, and joy with this Gioventù Studentesca [GS, the high school CL group], in the house of Fr. Eugenio Corecco, future Bishop of Lugano, now departed for his definitive embrace with the longed-for Friend!
But let's look an instant at this "go ahead" given by Paul VI, Cardinal Montini, to Fr. Giussani: "Go ahead." Friendship: what a precious gift, but a gift exposed to temptations that are very human and maybe even diabolic! First of all there is the temptation, the danger that friendship will become a group mentality, the cohesive force of a party-whether political or even ecclesiastical-that friendship will be confused with all these coalitions that we form in life, always, against the others who are outside the circle of our friendships, our friends, and thus become easily identified as enemies. We have to distinguish between friendship and coalition. To save friendship, how can you keep it from becoming coalition, party, group?
I think that the path taken by Fr. Giussani is a true fundari amicitiam, as St. Thomas says in his famous Quaestio 23 of the Secunda secundae art. 2, when he speaks of friendship as the essence of love, of charity. Fundari amicitiam, the experience of a Man who gives us His friendship and lifts us out of the temptation to become a group, a party, and thus render false the gift of friendship. How can we avoid this falsification? Fr. Giussani gives us a trace: friendship, above all, is an event, it never lets itself be boxed in, but remains gratuitous, a gift, even if there is no stronger experience of loyalty, constancy, solidity than friendship; despite this it remains, always surprisingly, a gift. Every day friendship is new, this amazing friendship that Jesus offers us; there is nothing more firm, solid, and sure than this always-new surprise of His friendship.
Fr. Giussani tried to express the Christian life, the Christian fact, as an "event." Faith is the consequence of that event. Friendship with Jesus makes us capable of friendship. In the experience of the divine event in Jesus, we too can become capable of friendship. "Lord, you know that I love you," was St. Peter's answer, made possible in the gift of a friendship that overcame all the disasters of disloyalty. This friendship generates traces in history: the friends of friends become friends; friendship creates a companionship that is more than a party, a conspiracy, group, or coalition. Right here is the experience of the Church: amici Dei, the friends of God, the saints. How many have been given as friends for us? And John Paul II never tires of giving us every month, we could say, new amici Dei for knowing this circle of friends, the marvel of this companionship of friendship, with so many different aspects, so much richness, so much beauty.
Fr. Giussani invites us to admire this, he opens our heart to friendship. The Church is woven of these friendships, "St. Peter's net," as Madeleine Delbrêl says, comparing the Church to St. Peter's net made up of so many knots of friendship. Here we discover also morality as a site of friendship, where we sense a much more radical rigor than that of moralistic rigorousness: the gift of one's life for one's friend, the gift of mercy that overpowers the wounds of sin. Thus-St. Thomas explains-we can love even our enemies, knowing that the only Friend has given His life for them, also for those who are our enemies, who can thus become friends.
Fr. Giussani's book-with Stefano Alberto and Javier Prades-is a wonderful witness to the traces that this friendship has already left in the history of so many people. Even after many years the freshness and also the maturity of the friendship remain, because the surprising gaze of the Friend who one day asked two young men who were following Him, "What do you want?" is always new. "Where do you live?" they asked Him. "Come and see." This event, this come and see, remains happiness, joy, surprising joy. Surprised by Joy is the wonderful title of a book by C.S. Lewis.
I am not sure if I understand well all of Fr. Giussani's ideas; sometimes it's a little hard for me to understand. But now I understand better why I found so much joy in my first meetings with Fr. Giussani's friends, continuing up to today. I find the ultimate response to the mystery, to the secret of friendship, in a phrase by Fr. Giussani that is on the back cover of his book. It is the final part of his testimony given on May 30, 1998, during the meeting of the Holy Father John Paul II with the movements: "The true protagonist of history is the beggar: Christ begging for man's heart and man's heart begging for Christ."