Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 867

the artificial separation of the Gospel from intellectual and public life should

prompt us to engage in a mutual "self-critique of modernity" and "self-cri-

tique of modern Christianity," specifically with regard to the hope each of

them can offer mankind.1 We may ask ourselves, what does the Gospel have

to say to the Czech Republic and indeed all of Europe today in a period

marked by proliferating world views?

Christianity has much to offer on the practical and ethical level, for the

Gospel never ceases to inspire men and women to place themselves at the

service of their brothers and sisters. Few would dispute this. Yet those who

fix their gaze upon Jesus of Nazareth with eyes of faith know that God offers

a deeper reality which is nonetheless inseparable from the "economy" of

charity at work in this world: 2 He offers salvation.

The term is replete with connotations, yet it expresses something funda-

mental and universal about the human yearning for well-being and whole-

ness. It alludes to the ardent desire for reconciliation and communion that

wells up spontaneously in the depths of the human spirit. It is the central

truth of the Gospel and the goal to which every effort of evangelization and

pastoral care is directed. And it is the criterion to which Christians constantly

redirect their focus as they endeavour to heal the wounds of past divisions.

To this end - as Doctor C̆erný has noted - the Holy See was pleased to host

an International Symposium in 1999 on Jan Hus to facilitate a discussion of

the complex and turbulent religious history in this country and in Europe

more generally.3 I pray that such ecumenical initiatives will yield fruit not

only in the pursuit of Christian unity, but for the good of all European

society.

We take confidence in knowing that the Church's proclamation of salva-

tion in Christ Jesus is ever ancient and ever new, steeped in the wisdom of the

past and brimming with hope for the future. 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.

1 Cfr. Spe Salvi, 22. 2 Cfr. Caritas in Veritate, 2. 3 Cfr. Pope John Paul II, Address to the International Symposium on John Hus, 1999.