1117 15 December 2017 Monthly Year 1 Discern and Accompany: Indications from Amoris Laetitia Toward the 2018 Synod on Young .11 O People, Faith and Discernment Christians in Muslim Lands OLUME 1, N 1, OLUME Moments of Doubt V Venezuela Sinks to New Depths 2017 Christian Art and Contemporary Culture Korea’s Present and Future Parliamentary Elections in Germany CONTENTS 1117 BEATUS POPULUS, CUIUS DOMINUS DEUS EIUS Copyright, 2017, Union of Catholic Asian Editor-in-chief News ANTONIO SPADARO SJ All rights reserved. Except for any fair Editorial Board dealing permitted under the Hong Kong Antonio Spadaro SJ – Director Copyright Ordinance, no part of this Giancarlo Pani SJ – Vice-Director publication may be reproduced by any Domenico Ronchitelli SJ – Senior Editor means without prior permission. Inquires Giovanni Cucci SJ, Diego Fares SJ, should be made to the publisher. Francesco Occhetta SJ, Giovanni Sale SJ Title: La Civiltà Cattolica, English Edition Emeritus editor Virgilio Fantuzzi SJ, ISSN: 2207-2446 Giandomenico Mucci SJ, GianPaolo Salvini SJ ISBN: 978-1-925612-30-1 (paperback) Contributing Editor ​978-1-925612-31-8 (ebook) Luke Hansen SJ 978-1-925612-32-5 (kindle) Published by Union of Catholic Asian News P.O. Box 80488, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong Phone: +852 2727 2018 Fax: +852 2772 7656 www.ucanews.com Publishers: Michael Kelly SJ and Robert Barber Production Manager: Rangsan Panpairee Grithanai Napasrapiwong CONTENTS 1117 15 December 2017 Monthly Year 1 1 Discern and Accompany Indications from Amoris Laetitia Juan Carlos Scannone, SJ 14 Young People, Faith and Discernment The 2018 Synod: Indications of an incomplete document Diego Fares, SJ 28 Christians in Muslim Lands An ancient, contrasting and multifaceted story Marc Rastoin, SJ 40 Moments of Doubt Giovanni Cucci, SJ 54 Venezuela Sinks to New Depths Arturo Peraza, SJ 67 Christian Art and Contemporary Culture Between decline and hope of redemption Andrea Dall’Asta, SJ 78 Korea’s Present and Future An interview with Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong Antonio Spadaro, SJ 90 Parliamentary Elections in Germany Andreas R. Batlogg, SJ ABSTRACTS ARTICLE 1 DISCERN AND ACCOMPANY Indications from Amoris Laetitia Juan Carlos Scannone, SJ The Father loves his Son as “the concrete-living one,” says Romano Guardini, and he loves each and every one of us individually in Christ as “concrete- living beings” in our unrepeatable uniqueness. It follows that such universality and singularity cannot correspond in morality to a mere unequivocal and ahistorical casuistry, nor even to an equivocal and relativistic situation ethics. What is required is an accurate discernment, like the one proposed by the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, a personal discernment, accompanied by an ecclesial pastoral discernment that confirms it. The author is a professor for the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel at the Universidad del Salvador in Argentina. ARTICLE 14 YOUNG PEOPLE, FAITH AND DISCERNMENT The 2018 Synod: Indications of an incomplete document Diego Fares, SJ The preparatory document for the next Synod of Bishops on “Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment” was presented in January 2017. The framework of the document may be very useful during the period of consultation of the People of God. In this “reader’s guide” we will indicate some key points on which it would be helpful to take some time to benefit from reflection, and others – as indicated by the document itself – where it is possible to make some contribution. ABSTRACTS ARTICLE 28 CHRISTIANS IN MUSLIM LANDS An ancient, contrasting and multifaceted story Marc Rastoin, SJ Life for Christians in countries with a Muslim majority is often difficult. The situation is not simple even in countries that do not adhere to an integralist ideology. Throughout history, conditions have often changed, and a certain level of tolerance in some periods and places has let Christians survive in Islamic countries and participate in civil life. It is worth considering why Christians are still present in Egypt but have disappeared from the rest of North Africa, and what elements can support the survival of these Christian communities today in Islamic countries. The author is a Biblical scholar and teaches Sacred Scripture at the Centre Sèvres in Paris. ARTICLE 40 MOMENTS OF DOUBT Giovanni Cucci, SJ Counseling the doubtful is a spiritual work of mercy widely attested to since the origin of Christianity. It shows the intellectual and wisdom dimension of the discipleship of Jesus and of the works of charity. It is not a technique that is learned, a sort of persuasive ability, but it is tied essentially to knowledge and to the spiritual path. This article presents some of its essential features and shows the present and urgent nature of this work for our time. The author is on the college of writers for La Civiltà Cattolica. ABSTRACTS FOCUS 54 VENEZUELA SINKS TO NEW DEPTHS Arturo Peraza, SJ In the first months of 2017 there was a dangerous shift in the Venezuelan crisis. On July 30, 2017, after the Supreme Court had disbanded Parliament, a Constituent National Assembly was established in violation of the Venezuelan constitutional rules and against the will of the majority of the population. Despite various attempts at mediation, particularly by the Holy See, the government in office does not appear to be giving up on its increasingly authoritarian model of governance, and the country is sinking to new depths of poverty and violence. The author is Deputy Director of the Guayana section of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, Venezuela. ART, MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT 67 CHRISTIAN ART AND CONTEMPORARY CULTURE Between decline and hope of redemption Andrea Dall’Asta, SJ The relationship between Christianity and the visual arts has been configured in the European world, albeit between alternate events, as the story of a close and fruitful alliance. But this close tie has withered with the passing of the centuries and above all today with increasing secularization. How has the Church reacted to this historic crisis? On the one hand the temptation to reinsert postmodernism within tradition takes on the nostalgic flavor of a return to a mythical and reassuring past. On the other hand the real challenge is to listen to the questions and contradictions of our time. Art is called to be prophetic again and indicate new horizons of meaning for people today. The author is the director of the San Fedele Art Gallery in Milan. ABSTRACTS INTERVIEWS 78 KOREA’S PRESENT AND FUTURE An interview with Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong Antonio Spadaro, SJ The mission of the Church in Korea; the meaning and context of the escalating tension around North Korea, aware of the interests of the superpowers; the need for a new and mutual trust between the Holy See and China after an era of colonialism and an age of persecutions; the important and positive challenges that the Asian continent brings to the Church and the world: these are some of the issues of a far-reaching conversation between the president of the Korean Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong, and the editor in chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, Fr. Antonio Spadaro. This interview presents a first analysis of Pope Francis’ visit to Korea that was deeply stimulating for the ecclesial fabric there. The article also describes the contrasting tones of a dynamic and vibrant, multicultural and multilingual Korea, where Christian, Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist religious traditions peacefully coexist. FOCUS 90 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN GERMANY Andreas R. Batlogg, SJ Angela Merkel has received her fourth mandate as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. There was little doubt about the outcome, yet this result was accompanied by new factors. In fact, what emerged from the recent German parliamentary elections is anything but an outright victory: a defeat in terms of votes for the coalition that supports the premier; the defeat of the Social Democratic Party of Martin Schulz that has moved into opposition; and the rise of the extreme right of the Alternative for Germany, which threatens to be a combative opposition. As for the formation of the government, a new coalition seems to have emerged between Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, the Free Democrats and the Greens, while Cardinal Reinhard Marx has been calling for “verbal disarmament.” The author is editor in chief of the German magazine Stimmen der Zeit. Annual Digital Subscription $79 Annual Print Subscription Asia: $160* In Edition 1117: Australia/NZ/Oceania: $200* wUSA/UK/Ireland/ • Discern and Accompany: Europe: $220* Indications from Amoris Laetitia Rest of the world: $260* • Toward the 2018 Synod on Young People, Faith and Discernment Print + Digital Bundle • Christians in Muslim Lands Asia: $200* Australia/NZ/Oceania: $240* • Moments of Doubt USA/UK/Ireland/ • Venezuela Sinks to New Depths Europe: $260* Rest of the world: $280* • Christian Art and Contemporary Culture Prices in US Dollars • Korea’s Present and Future * Rates include postage & handling • Parliamentary Elections in Germany Educational and bulk rates are available, please email [email protected] Discern and Accompany: Indications from Amoris Laetitia Juan Carlos Scannone, SJ Miserando atque eligendo is the motto chosen by Jorge Mario Bergoglio for his episcopal crest, and he has kept it as pope. It refers not only to the mercy of God but also to the fact that God chooses Bergoglio – just as each one of us – in a singular, 1 personalized and personalizing way. It is the merciful love of the Father with which God loves his Son – in the terminology of Romano Guardini – as “the concrete-living person,” and God loves each and every one of us individually in Christ as “concrete-living persons” in our own unrepeatable uniqueness. We recall that Bergoglio had chosen as the core of his doctoral dissertation in theology the work of Guardini titled “Der Gegensatz: Versuche zu einer Philosophie des Lebendig-Konkreten” (The Opposite: Toward a Philosophy of the Concrete-Living Person),1 thinking, in the first place, of Christ, but also of each and every human person as singular and unique.