About 20 or so religious congregations and associations were invited to present their approach to the mystery of the Heart of Christ, starting with their particular origins through its unfolding in the past and at present. For centuries and particularly during the last century, many congregations have consecrated their very existence to living and giving witness to this mystery. Following an era of silence, then debate and questioning, both the theology and the spirituality of the Heart of Christ are gradually rediscovering their equilibrium and vitality in service to the mission, especially among congregations and movements founded for the purpose.
The conference at Paray-le-Monial was designed to expose the salient elements of this growth and restatement. Accordingly the organizers sought to have widely diverse traditions present, simply to highlight their rich complementarity. People wanted to have a better understanding of the role that contemplation of the Heart of Christ brings to the service that the church offers when it preaches the gospel today: The Heart of Christ for a New World.
On behalf of the SCJs, Frs. André Blaise and André Perroux, both of the French province, were in attendance. Fr. Perroux listed the contributions of Fr. Dehon in summary form and explained how the Congregation and the Dehonian Family are attempting to live them today (cf. the text in Dehoniana 1996/3, pp. 21-53: Une vie consacrée au Coeur de Jésus: le Père Dehon).
The conference proceedings have been published this past April by Editions Emmanuel, with the title used for the conference: Le Coeur du Christ pour un monde nouveau. The book has 275 pages and reports all the talks given by the representatives of the Congregations and movements, and the one on Fr. Dehon as well. There is ample room for "Questions for the next century" (reparation, the eucharistic Heart of Jesus, etc.,) also touched upon during the conference.
These topics were treated and argued over in various talks given by a number of celebrities present, among them the Queen of Holland, Mario Soares, Danielle Mitterand, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Emilio Gabaglio, Santer.
True union calls for abatement of egotism which crops up too frequently and unfortunately among peoples, for agreement on human values, for incorporation of Mediterranean peoples, for understanding that Europe lies between the Atlantic and the Urals and between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and that cultural differences can become a source of riches for Europe's future.
Invited by the European Federalist Movement and the CIME (Comitato Italiano Movimento Europeo), a limited number of representatives of the "Dehonian European Movement" from Naples took part under the direction of Fr. Franco Gualtieri (IM).
The "Dehonian European Movement" had been accepted as partner in the CIME on April 30, 1998. Two seats on the National Council were accorded its representatives as well as one seat on the Board of Directors. All three occupying these seats are lay people.
At the home office of CIME in Rome on April 30, Fr. Muzio Ventrella (IM) briefly recalled one talk and two articles by Fr. Dehon (1898). One hundred years earlier, he expressed the hope that Europe would return to its roots as a continent of justice and freedom ("Social Reign of the Sacred Heart"). A number of the members of the members of the CIME National Council and Board of Directors are former students of the SCJs.
We believe that the establishment of the European Union should be sustained because peoples ought to work for a closer union of the human family. As an example to other continents, the European Union should build upon the two thousand-year-old christian culture and be inspired by the social teaching of the church.
In listening to the talks at The Hague, one could hear refrains from Pacem in Terris of John XXIII and Gaudium et Spes from Vatican Council II in the various languages employed
On the occasion of World Day of Conscientious Objection, I want to state deep satisfaction on behalf of GAVCI with the approval of the new law on conscientious objection during the afternon of Wednesday 13 May by the Senate Commission on Defense. Two steps remain: approval by the entire Senate and the signature of the President of the Republic. Afterwards, much will depend on how the law is interpreted, particularly as to what kind of training the conscientious objectors will receive. The type of objection and the type of civil service will depend greatly on the kind of training provided. For this reason, GAVCI has maintained its resolve to have a month of residential training. If training is provided, quality will result. And if quality results, "there will be no danger from anarchy or rebellion, but a movement that morally rectifies egotistical nationalism, militaristic education, and hatred among peoples" (Don Luigi Sturzo, London, 14 March 1933). It is my hope that the final steps to making this into law will occur during the month of May