CHURCH

The Total Gift of Self
During the October 21st Consistory, the Pope gave the Cardinal’s hat to Angelo Scola, the Patriarch of Venice, among others. “The ties between Venice and the Christian East are part of the DNA of our Church.”

edited by Alberto Savorana

During the Consistory called for the twenty-fifth anniversary of his pontificate, John Paul II named Angelo Scola Cardinal. At the news of his nomination, the Patriarch of Venice asked the Venetian Church for special accompaniment in prayer, addressing his request especially to the sick, children, and the elderly with these words, “I think the fundamental thing is for us all, as baptized members of the Patriarchate of Venice, to immerse ourselves in what the dignity of cardinalship means, a dignity that the Pope, through me, has chosen to grant to all the Patriarchate.
Let us start from the simplest things, even if they might at first sight arouse great trepidation. The cardinal’s color purple stands for blood, and the dignity of cardinalship is being willing to serve Jesus in His Church to the point of giving one’s blood. I hope the Lord will not ask us for this, but certainly He asks us for the total offering of our lives. One of the most beautiful and meaningful expressions often on the Holy Father’s lips is the expression “total gift of self.” I ask all of us to be able to make this offering, and I personally entreat the Lord for the grace that His mercy may, on one hand, forgive my frailties and limitations, and on the other, grant me the heart of a child to follow Him. And above all, may He make me see how many in our Church, the poor, outcasts, children, the elderly, the sick, very simple people, are doing this. I believe that we Christians must look to the many witnesses present. I believe that this is the substance. Heaven help us if we should get lost in the worldly aspects connected with this event.”
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Unity with the Orthodox
“ The ties between Venice and the Christian East are part of the DNA of our Church…. Wherever communion is deep from the standpoint of sacrament and dogma, sooner or later unity must triumph. To be sure, the road is yet long, and it has been complicated in some ways by the geopolitical situation of the world after the fall of the Berlin Wall…. The proper subject of ecumenism is the holy people of God. Ecumenism takes place on the level of the people, as the experience of Romania teaches us, with the famous cry of ‘Unity, unity!’ that the crowd shouted as John Paul II and Patriarch Teoctist embraced in Bucharest. Theological dialogue must remain within the sensus fidei of the people. The road has to be cultivated on the grass-roots level, and I believe that if we do this, there could be, unexpectedly, more rapid progress made.”
(Angelo Scola interviewed by Andrea Tornielli in Il Giornale, an Italian daily, October 21, 2003)