R. R. Reno: “Our Christian heritage encourages us to love freedom”

The International Congress “Towards a Christian Renewal of Europe”, organised by the Centre for Studies, Training and Social Analysis (CEFAS) of the CEU San Pablo University Foundation, concluded with a call to reclaim the Christian values that have shaped Europe.

In the closing conference, the writer and director of First Things, Russell R. Reno, pointed out the importance of reclaiming freedom in a society that is increasingly anchored in fear: “Our Christian heritage has shaped the West in a way that encourages us to love freedom”. He also stated that “we live in an age of disintegration” which “seeks to break down limits and frontiers”. In this regard, he assured that “liberalism cannot endure without conservative elements that set limits and anchor our lives”.

During the three days of the Congress, numerous international intellectuals from different fields reflected on the Christian roots of Europe and discussed the challenges facing Christianity today. “We are called here by the desire for a Christian renewal of Europe, and this renewal cannot, of course, take place without Christianity. But there is no Christianity without the Church, and there is no Church without apostolic succession, without bishops”, said Mr Elio Gallego, director of the Congress and CEFAS, at the opening ceremony.

In the opening conference, Mr Zlotán Szalai, Director General of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest, stressed the importance of defending the Christian democratic values that are the foundation of the European Union. “These values must be converted into public policies”, he added, and defended the proposal to “return to a Christian democracy“. This idea was also highlighted by the director of The European Conservative, Mr Mario Fantini, in his speech entitled “Europe today: challenges and answers”. In this regard, the historian and lecturer at the Zachodni Institute of Poznan in Poland, Mr David Engels, stated that “we must return to the values that have ensured Europe’s success for centuries”. Meanwhile, the director of the CEU Royal University Institute of European Studies, Mr José María Beneyto, stressed that “Europe cannot survive without some implicit foundations; the dignity of the person in the first place”.

The philosopher, historian and founder of the Hannah Arendt Institute, Ms Chantal Delsol, took part in the Congress, explaining during her conference entitled “The agony of Christianity in the West”, the Christian dimension that has shaped Europe since its origins and the situation it is currently experiencing, “the end of Christendom is not the end of Christianity, but its transformation“. She also recalled the vocation of Christianity: “to spread, convert, dominate and reach out to all nations”, and stressed that “Christianity, as a religion, does not see itself as a myth or a story, but as a truth that has to assume its universality”.

In this regard, the Professor of Medieval History at the CEU San Pablo University, Mr Alejandro Rodríguez de la Peña, also discussed the roots of Europe and in his talk criticised the preconception that Christianity has been opposed to knowledge. “Christian humanism is the mixture of a Greco-Roman tradition, we are the heirs of Plato and Aristotle and Catholics must defend them”, said the professor in a talk full of references to historical images.

The Congress also dealt with the reality of the cultural battle and Christian commitment. American journalist and writer, Mr Rod Dreher, discussed the ideology that has taken hold in America and that controls all institutions. “We should all respect everyone, but in order to be a free person, you have to be able to tell the truth, and in many places in the USA, you can’t tell the truth”, he stressed. He also defended the existence of strong communities “where faith is not just a series of proposals but a way of life”. This commitment was also stressed by Mr Francisco Serrano, Professor of Journalism at the CEU San Pablo University. “The problem with the church today is that Christian commitment is insufficient. There has been a separation of faith and life: our fundamental problem is this dualism”. The president of the Fondazione Tatarella, Mr Francesco Giubilei, also spoke and expressed the need to reclaim our Christian values: “To annul our Christian roots is to deny our identity”.

«Politics does not change the world, what changes the world is the word».

François-Xavier Bellamy

The debate on progressivism also had a place in the International Congress “Towards a Christian Renewal of Europe” and the professor of Philosophical Anthropology at the CEU Cardenal Herrera University, Mr Higinio Marín, affirmed that the objective of this school of thought is “to suspend all the conditioning factors of a biological nature that restrict our freedom”. He also stressed the need to recognise the inheritance received: “We need to restore, from our modern position, a critical but grateful relationship with the conditioning factors that structure us geographically and culturally”. In this regard, the academic director of ISSEP-Madrid, Mr Miguel Ángel Quintana Paz, stressed that “the Woke movement does not contemplate either forgiveness or gratitude”. This idea was further emphasised in the talk “Coherence and political action” by the philosopher and MEP for the EPP group, Mr François-Xavier Bellamy: “We are going through a profound crisis due to relativism, which prevents us from seeing reality. It promises us tolerance and in fact restricts the spaces of freedom” and stressed that “the search for truth gives meaning to democracy”. “Politics does not change the world, what changes the world is the word“, the MEP concluded.