(Vatican Radio) In the third in our series of European Editorials, senior journalist
at Vatican Radio’s Scandinavian Programme, Charlotta Smeds, looks at the broader implications
of the recent "Courtyard of the Gentiles" meeting, which took place in Stockholm,
Sweden, on the 13th and 14th of September.
“A world with or without
God” - reflections after the Courtyard of the Gentiles in Sweden
The 12th
“Courtyard of the Gentiles” took place in Sweden in mid-September. An encounter between
believers and non-believers on the theme: A World with or without God, the
event brought together people from the worlds of Swedish culture and science, along
with representatives of religions and atheists.
Sweden is often called a “post-Christian”
country – one in which, according to statistics, secularization has gained more ground,
and where God has had to step aside – a country in which reign “human rights” but
not “the law of God.”
A country, Sweden, in which the choice of where to give
birth to a son, and when, is part of the logic of rights, along with the right to
“have” a “flawless” child and discard one during pregnancy if it is not. It is a country
in which the Ministry of Education forbids priests to say, “God bless you!” to students
at the end of the school year; in which every politician (except one) in the parliament
voted against the freedom of conscience for healthcare workers. A country in which
are copied the same rites of the sacraments - with the only difference that every
last trace of God is excluded. It is a country in which you do not take the place
of university president because in your résumé you have written that you are a believer.
According
to statistics, God is not important to the Swedes. On the contrary, He is. Sweden
is not indifferent to God. Anyone who lives there as a believer knows it, and meets
amazement, curiosity and even diffidence when he or she declares it. Those who experienced
the Courtyard of the Gentiles in Stockholm know it, as well. It was with genuine fervor
that participants spoke of belief and the role of religion in society.
The
major contribution of the Courtyard of the Gentiles was to bring into open debate
a topic, the public discussion of which is considered politically and culturally incorrect
in Sweden. Not only: the two-day meeting was broadcast on state television in full
(6 hours), twice. The openness of all participants to treat questions surrounding
the theme with a personal touch, focusing more on the question of belief than non-belief,
was evident. The halls were filled with people who listened for hours in silence,
complaining in the end only that there was too little time. One thing that came to
light, and on which there was agreement, was that radical laïcité (or, if you will,
“secular” fundamentalism) is not less dangerous than religious fundamentalism.
There
is an enormous difference between a society with God and one without God. The society
without God wants to put man at the center: a man who, in the face of life’s vicissitudes,
desperately seeks control. On the other hand, the society that leaves room for God,
not only as a distant thought, but as a participant present in life, puts trust where
the former placed the illusion of control. It is trust in a God, whom I did not make
myself, but who made me – to have a part in a design that is good, even when it requires
suffering and sacrifice for love.
We are standing before the ancient difficulty
that man has in admitting that he needs God, that he is dependent and even indebted
to Him. Man would say, “I want to be God. I do not ever kneel.” How much wisdom is
there instead, in the simple phrase, “One must be able to kneel down, in order to
be able to stand up.” When life is uncertain, when the family or society wavers, there
is the simple answer of the saints: “Get on your knees - if not, you will fall. Leave
room for God.” Though the world denies the presence of God, He certainly has not lost
interest in the world. We need continually to remind ourselves how small, and how
great, man is.