Values and politics. The humanist perspective of the Christian commitment, today INDEX

Transcription

1 Values and politics. The humanist perspective of the Christian commitment, today INDEX 1. Introduction. 2. Welcome Dinner. 3. Workshop Program. 4. Opening. 5. Opening Conference: Social Christians, politics and economy. 6. Christian humanism and community personalism, today. 7. The social commitment of Christians, today. 8. The social market economy as a response. 9. Public policies and private initiatives. How can they co-exist? 10. Lunch. 11. Democratic quality in community life. 12. The helpless and the suffering are your only masters. Community efforts to tackle poverty. 13. Plenary dialogue: Christian Democracy, here and now. 14. Closing conference: The Christian humanist proposal. 15. Closure 16. Workshop Closure dinner

2 1. Introduction On 9 November 2013 the Ideological Workshop on Values and Politics, the humanistic perspective of the Christian commitment today, was organised by the Miquel Coll i Alentorn Institute of Humanist Studies (INEHCA) and the Centre For European Studies (CES), in co-operation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation (Secretary of State for International Co-operation) in Hotel Meliá, Barcelona. The workshop was dedicated to reflecting upon the meaning that the Christian commitment gives to politics, how it determines our political ideology and in which direction we must target our actions. What response does it give to the questions; Why do we do things? What drives us to dedicate our lives to politics? What underlines our education and willingness to serve? These questions should interest any member of any political party or anyone who holds a political position and is interested in public service and restoring the honour of politics. The people responsible for opening the workshop were the Director of INEHCA, Francesc de P. Gambas, the Director of Research at CES, Ronald Freudenstein and the Chairman of the Unió Democrática de Catalonia (UDC) National Council, Ramón Espadaler. The opening conference was given by Gutenberg Martínez, Dean of the Universidad de Miguel de Cervantes in Chile, who was introduced by Josep M. Pelegrí, Secretary General of UDC Governing Committee. The workshop also included several important speakers from the fields of culture and Christian Democratic politics from around the world, including Josep A. Duran i Lleida, Chairman of the UDC Governing Council; Llibert Cuatrecasas, Chairman of lnehca; Joan Rigol, former Chairman of the Parliament of Catalonia; Joana Ortega, Vicechairman of UDC institutional relations and Vice-chairman of the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya; Salvador Sedó, Member of the European Parliament; José Sols, Director of the School of Ethics and Christian Thinking at IQS; Josep M. Carbonell, Dean of the Faculty of Communication at URL; Jaume Aymar, priest and Director of Radio Estel and Catalunya Cristiana; Ignasi Farreres, Chairman of CEES; Marcelo Resico, Economist and lecturer at UCA in Argentina; Josep Oriol Pujol, Director of the Pere Tarres Foundation; Iban Rabasa, Chairman of Unió de Joves; Miquel Puig, Vicechairman of INEHCA; Paolo Naccarato, Senator of the Italian Republic; Enrique San Miguel, Professor at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos I and Guillermo León Escobar, former Colombian Ambassador to the Holy See.

3 2. Welcome Dinner The welcome dinner was held on 8 November, the night before the ideological workshop began. This dinner brought together some of the participants and organisers, and it helped to introduce people further and to encourage exchanging ideas and experiences. It also started a discussion on the workshop themes in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. 3. Workshop Program The following day, Saturday 9 November, the ideological workshop was held, with the following program: 8.45h Credits 9.00h Opening Francesc de P. Gambús, Director of INEHCA Roland Freudenstein, Director of research at CES Ramon Espadaler, Chairman of the UDC National Council

4 9.30h Opening conference: Social Christians, politics and economy Gutenberg Martínez, Dean of the Universidad de Miguel de Cervantes in Chile Introduced by: Josep M. Pelegrí, Secretary General of the UDC Governing Committee 10.45h Break 11.00h Parallel Session Session A: Christian humanism and community personalism, today Conference given by: Joan Rigol, former Chairman of the Parliament of Catalonia ( ) Commentators: José Sols, Director of the School of Ethics and Christian Thinking at IQS Joan Lluís Pérez Francesch, Lecturer in Constitutional Law Moderator: Llibert Cuatrecasas, Chairman of INEHCA Session B: The social commitment of Christians, today Josep M. Carbonell, Dean of the Faculty of Communication at URL Jordi López-Camps, Doctor in Biology Josep Miró i Ardèvol, Founder of E-cristians Moderator: Jaume Aymar, priest, Director of Radio Estel and Catalunya Cristiana 12.45h Parallel session Session A: The social market economy as a response Marcelo Resico, Economist, lecturer at UCA - Argentina Eugenio Recio, Honorary lecturer at ESADE Moderator: Ignasi Farreres, Chairman of CEES Session B: Public policies and private initiatives How can they co-exist? Ignasi Parody, Secretary General of the Trinijove Foundation Josep Oriol Pujol, Director of the Pere Tarrés Foundation Iban Rabasa, Chairman of the Unió de Joves Moderator and commentator: Joana Ortega, Vice-chairman of the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya 14.00h Lunch 16.00h Parallel session Session A: Democratic quality in community life Carles Losada, former Director General of ESADE Miquel Puig, Vice-chairman of INEHCA Paolo Naccarato, Senator of the Italian Republic Moderator: Salvador Sedó, Member of the European Parliament

5 Session B: The helpless and the suffering are your only masters: Community efforts to tackle poverty. Jordi Roglà, Director of Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona Commentator: Antoni Font, Vice-Secretary General of UDC 17.15h Plenary Dialogue: Christian democracy here and now. Enrique San Miguel, Professor at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Gutenberg Martínez, Dean of the Universidad Miguel de Cervantes in Chile Moderator: Montserrat Surroca, Member of the Spanish Parliament 18.15h Closing Conference: The Christian humanist proposal Guillermo León Escobar, former Colombian Ambassador to the Holy See Introduced by: Josep A. Duran i Lleida, Chairman of the UDC Governing Council 19.15h Closure Llibert Cuatrecasas, Chairman of INEHCA Josep A. Duran i Lleida, Chairman of the UDC Governing Council 20.00h Workshop closure dinner

6 4. Opening The people responsible for opening the ideological workshop were Francesc de P. Gambús, Director of INEHCA, Roland Freudenstein, Director of research at CES and Ramon Espadaler, Chairman of the UDC National Council. The Director of INEHCA was responsible for the introductions, and used his address to thank the attendants and their interest, and to wish the workshop every success. The Director of research at CES, Roland Freudenstein, started his address remembering the recent demise of Wilfried Martens, who was the Prime Minister of Belgium on two occasions and Chairman of the European Popular Party from 1990 until two days before he died, on 9 October INEHCA, in co-operation with CES recently published a translation of his memoirs. Freudenstein recalled that his main values were solidarity and subsidiarity, according to the community sense of a humane person. That is why Christian Democracy cannot forget that if one fails we all fail, and if one succeeds we all succeed. Freudenstein highlighted the coincidence over the date of the workshop, with two historical dates of 9 November the night of broken glass in 1938 and the fall of the Berlin wall in With this reminder, he wanted to draw people s attention to the need for us to inherit the best European tradition. For his part, Ramón Espadaler wanted to remember the two souls that have characterised the Unió Democràtica de Catalunya since it was founded in 1931, 82 years ago now: the national soul and the Christian soul. In this respect, Espadaler wanted to highlight that the UDC s national commitment is not just compatible with the Christian commitment, but also a direct and necessary consequence of it. We are nationalists because we are personalists and because a person s Christian conception is inseparable from their political community. It is therefore attending to this community dimension of a person that the party has to worry about the health of the nation. That is why the party defends the national rights and rights to the State, and the State must respect them. Espadaler also highlighted the importance of such a clear ideology as UDC, particularly at times like now when we have a social, economic and national crisis. The UDC

7 principles are the clearest and firmest guide for political and economic action. In this respect, he recalled the party s commitment to the values of subsidiarity and their role in the Social Market Economy, which is not simply an equivalent economic doctrine between liberalism and socialism, but one that has its own contents, based on market freedom and social cohesion, and supported by values of freedom with responsibility, commitment and solidarity. 5. Opening Conference: Social Christians, politics and economics The person responsible for giving the opening conference was Gutenberg Martínez, Dean of the Universidad Miguel de Cervantes in Chile. He was introduced by Josep M. Pelegrí, Secretary General of the UDC Governing Council, and he recalled the value of principles to overcome situations like today and the importance of looking for new ways of doing politics; new ways that would include the Social Market Economy, which is an economy with soul, the soul that is lacking from the present day economy. Before becoming university dean, Gutenberg Martínez was Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies in Chile, Chairman of the Christian Democratic Organisation in America, Chairman of the Christian Democratic Party and Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Chile. In his conference, Martínez recalled the historical commitment to democracy for Christian Democrats all over the world, by saying that Christian Democrats have achieved more and better democracy than ever. He laid a claim for this commitment, insisting on the need to remain attentive to the new challenges that reality creates. In this respect, he encouraged Christians in general and politicians particularly, to bear present times in mind to guide their actions without falling into simple pragmatics. Upholding Christian values, which are always the same everywhere, should not be an impediment, and on the contrary should help us to reflect constantly on things that change and what is different according to time and place; the actual challenges of

8 politics. That is why Martínez wanted to insist on the fact that Christian Democrats do not have to live, closed in by their own convictions, turning their back on dialogue. They have to open up their sources. Widen their references. They have to be aware that the ideology has to be renewed permanently, even though the principles always remain the same. Martínez wanted to reflect on the meaning of politics, highlighting that it cannot be merely a conjunctural issue. Part of the current crisis has to do with the fact that by resolving conjunctural problems from a conjunctural stance, some conjunctural problems have in fact been resolved, but this has promoted a merely conjunctural image of legitimacy, leading to lost confidence and trust in politics and disaffection. In these times of crisis and disorientation, the substantial challenge facing Christian Democrats is offering an ideology that acts as a national and global guide; an ideology that puts people and the community in the centre, as the purpose, not as a means to an end. 6. Christian humanism and community personalism, today The conference on Christian humanism and community personalism was given by Joan Rigol, former Chairman of the Parliament of Catalonia ( ), with comments by José Sols, Director of the School of Ethics and Christian Thinking at IQS, URL and Joan Lluís Pérez Francesch, Lecturer on Constitutional Law. The Chairman of INEHCA, Llibert Cuatrecasas, introduced the speaker and commentators, and moderated the debate.

9 Rigol s thoughts concerned what Christianity brings to politicians when putting their role into practice, expressing that Christian Democratic politics have to have heart, and be moved by the politician s conscience and has to be empathetic towards citizens. In this respect, he highlighted five Christian contributions to politics: the first was that the Christian God is a God that speaks directly to the person and, therefore, to his conscience. The second was that it is not a legal God, but a personal one. The third, that it is not a God of worship, but instead directs his message directly to people s hearts. Therefore, the fourth is that it is a God of love. The fifth, that it is not a God leading to a mythical figure, but a God that has become a man. On the basis of these five contributions, we can create humanism with Christian roots, like the UDC, where you do not have to be a believer, but you must be a humanist. In reference to the work of reconciliating political activity with these Christian humanist principles, Rigol affirmed that all politicians must be prepared to dirty their hands, but not their heart, leaving it clear that our public figure must be in line with our values in our private life. 7. The social commitment of Christians today The round table on the social commitment of Christians today was moderated by Jaume Aymar, priest and Director of Ràdio Estel and Catalunya Cristiana. Also participating were Josep M. Carbonell, Dean of the Faculty of Communication at URL, Jordi López-Camps, Doctor in Biology and Josep Miró Ardèvol, founder of E-cristians.

10 The first speaker was Josep Maria Carbonell, who reflected on the faith-politics mediation, affirming that this would have to include a commitment in history, in practice, building an inclusive world. In this respect it is very important to understand the precarious situation of human issues, focusing our efforts on building the best in imperfect worlds. Carbonell recalled the example and speech given by Pope Francisco, affirming that Christian based politics must place the poor as our focus of attention and reference. Next, Josep Miró Ardèvol presented politics as a transforming instrument, which has to liberate people from the structures that prevent them from being themselves, and which harm them. That is why, according to Miró Ardèvol, Christians who have a role in politics cannot limit themselves to just solving problems; they must have further aspirations, they must aspire to introducing transforming actions. Jordi López Camps closed the session by claiming Christian virtues as political virtues. God is found wherever there is love, charity and fraternity. He therefore highlighted the need to revitalise the moral health of democracy, understanding that we cannot confuse legitimacy with morality, and remembering that the law of God is above the law of men. López Camps insisted that this commitment to charity is a historic commitment, and recalled that God does not judge us by our faith, but by our actions. That he does not judge us by what we have believed in, but by what we have done for our brothers. In this respect, he highlighted that acknowledging the concept of brotherhood, is also a source of personal growth.

11 8. Social market economy as a response The round table on the social market economy as a response was moderated by Ignasi Farreres, Chairman of the Centre of Social Economic Studies (CEES). Also participating was Marcelo Resico, economist and lecturer at Universidad Católica Argentina and Eugenio Recio, honorary lecturer at ESADE. Eugenio Resico dedicated his address to talking about the humanist proposal of Christian democracy, and its application to the Social Market Economy. According to Resico, the SME is the economic system best suited to democratic and Christian humanist principles, as it places people at the service of social life and economics at the service of people. With SME, the economy is a means for building a fairer society, and not just a purpose on its own. In this respect Resico assured that the market must serve the people. On the other hand, the lecturer, Eugenio Recio referred to the contributions the Social Market Economy has made and which can be used to respond to the current, deeprooted crisis, which affects economics, politics, society and values. A more humane economics, which serves the community, and which sees the community as the real purpose, and not as a means for personal growth. Also, Recio said that it is the market that allows certain values to develop, like responsible, creative and caring freedom. And he underlined that the market is at the service of the person, not the other way around. In this round table, he highlighted that the Social Market Economy is not a simple middle term between capitalism and economic socialism. Instead, it is an economic doctrine with its own identity. SME is an economy at the service of people and communities, which puts people in the centre of public life and recognises their value, according to Christian doctrine.

12 9. Public policies and private initiatives. How can they co-exist? The round table on Public Policies and Private Initiatives. How can they co-exist? was moderated by the Vice-chairman of the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Joana Ortega. Also participating were Ignasi Parody, Secretary General of the Trinijove Foundation, Josep Oriol Pujol, Director of the Pere Tarrés Foundation and Iban Rabasa, Chairman of Unió de Joves. The first speaker was Ignasi Parody who, using the example of the Trinijove Foundation, defended the need for co-operation between public administration and civil society, reminding us that the public initiative does not have to pretend to be a substitute for private initiative, and instead should complement it. In the second address, Josep Oriol Pujol defended that at times like today, it is more important than ever to keep civil life alive, and asked for structural reforms to facilitate civil life, as they are more necessary than ever. Iban Rabasa closed the round table by emphasising the huge importance of both private initiatives and a civil society in building a strong, dynamic society, particularly in a nation without a State, such as Catalonia. He reflected on the need to maintain and respect private initiative, and the opportunities that many young people lose when this respect is not given. He was critical towards the public acceptance of excessive

13 initiatives that could be conducted as private initiatives, without this meaning lost effectiveness or efficiency. Finally, Joana Ortega commented on the need to maintain the energetic, enriching social network that makes our country a unique community, where its strength lies in its people, and where the government has to guarantee everyone s rights, and in turn encourages all rich and numerous private initiatives to co-exist in search of the common good. 10. Lunch After the morning sessions, the Ideology Workshop participants and attendants had the opportunity to eat and relax for a while in the hotel restaurant. The meal gave speakers, political leaders, sympathisers and public attendants the opportunity to comment on the first sessions and quietly discuss some of the issues of the day. The hotel laid on a buffet-style meal for the workshop attendants. After this midday break, the Workshop continued with the afternoon sessions.

14 11. Democratic quality in community life The round table on the democratic quality in community life was moderated by Salvador Sedó, a Member of the UDC Governing Council, responsible for Politics and International Relations, and Member of the European Parliament for Convergència i Unió (CiU). Also participating in the round table were Carles Losada, former Director General of ESADE, Miquel Puig, vice-chairman of INEHCA and Paolo Naccarato, Senator in the Italian Republic.

15 Carles Losada gave the first address. Losada dedicated his speech to discussing the quality of our democratic life. In this respect, he noted that if for example we read the daily press, we realise that we have a poor democratic life. To help improve the quality of our democracy, Losada remarked that social debates are crucial elements, that help to create a sense of community and reinforce the level of demand by citizens, and he showed that for this purpose, we need motors; i..e, opinion leaders. The second address by Miquel Puig, focused on a more institutional vision of democratic life. According to Puig, the quality of democracy is associated with citizen involvement, transparency, account performance and good government. Also, Puig assured that the economic crisis moves our conscience and it moves citizens. It is in this respect that the current economic crisis has to be considered as an opportunity for strengthening the quality of our institutions and, consequently, the quality of our democracy. The Senator of the Italian Republic, Paolo Naccarato, closed the round table with his speech. Naccarato referred to the situation in Italy, but he dedicated his address to underlying the need to improve the transparency of public institutions in order to strengthen the quality of politics, and public life in general. 12. The helpless and the suffering are your only masters: Community efforts to tackle poverty The Director of Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona, Jordi Roglà, spoke about the community efforts to tackle poverty, with a conference entitled The helpless and the suffering are your only masters. He was introduced by the UDC vice-secretary General, Antoni Font, who also gave the final commentary.

16 In his address, Antoni Font quoted Chesterton s book What is bad in the world to claim the political value of the dignity of people, and the central focus on the poor in the political tasks by Christian Democrats and, therefore, the Unió Democrática de Catalunya. In the first instance, politics has to take care of the helpless. Jordi Roglà dedicated a large part of his address to explaining the aims, the operation and current situation of Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona. The gravity of the crisis has considerably increased the request for assistance, thereby multiplying the Càritas tasks and making their work more evident than ever. At the moment, he said, our aim is not just helping people to satisfy their basic needs, but also giving them back their jobs. It is about making it possible for them to re-join the working ranks and prevent them from becoming people dependent on charity for the whole of their lives. Roglà wanted to make it clear that Càritas is not an employment agency. Càritas is love, and all it does is try to follow the Christian mandate of loving your neighbour as you love yourself. At Càritas we feed people and we try to train them so that they can find jobs but, above all, we love them, look after them and support them. It is about helping them to recover the sense of their own dignity through community love. Christian love, charity, also means social justice. This is where the work of Càritas is based on four values: service, compassion (which does not mean pity), the correct management of the institution s economic and human resources and co-operation, between citizens and institutions, because this is the only way to come out of this crisis and strengthen social cohesion.

17 13. Plenary dialogue: Christian democracy, here and now The Unió Democràtica de Catalunya representative in the Spanish Congress, Montse Surroca moderated the dialogue on Christian democracy, here and now which was given by Enrique San Miguel, professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and Gutenberg Martínez, Dean of the Universidad Miguel Cervantes in Chile. San Miguel talked about the essence of Christian democratic politics. According to him, Christian Democratic politics is characterised by change and the strength of this politics is that Christian Democratic politics is the political strength of change. This could not be further away from the incorrectly termed conservative or reactionary positions. San Miguel wanted to highlight the political commitment implied by the Christian mandate of love, saying that Christian politics only needs to show love, but love leading to passion. And he finished his address by underlining that Christian humbleness is one of the main democratic principles of Christian Democrats: we are the party of people who know that we are not completely right, and that is why we need the help of the other political strengths. In his address, Gutenberg Martínez assured that Christian Democrats must position themselves in a centre with its own inclusive identity. Finally, the Dean of the

18 Universidad Miguel de Cervantes in Chile affirmed that Christian Democrats have to look for a point of reference, where they stop being simple spectators and become actors that change society, responding with their own voice to the demands for change currently evident in our society. 14. Closing Conference: The Christian humanist proposal Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, Chairman of the Unió Democràtica de Catalunya Governing Council, introduced Guillermo León Escobar, lecturer on Political Science at the Universidad Gregoriana in Rome and former Colombian Ambassador to the Holy See, who gave the closing conference in the Ideological Workshop on Values and Politics. In this conference, León Escobar took a broad view of the Christian humanist proposal and its political implications. He did so by shattering many stereotypes and common ground in usual speeches on Christian Democracy. And he also recovered current questions asked by Christians, which have radical implications in the practice of politics. In this respect, León Escobar highlighted that Christians have to be optimistic and act with enthusiasm, as someone who carries God within them. And he indicated that this enthusiasm in political actions is based on the main question Christians ask, which is not where is God, as asked in Auswitch, or where is the State, as is usually asked when public life is not want we expect of it; the real question is, where is your brother. This is the question that is asked in the Bible, and this is the question that has to guide a Christian s political thinking.

19 That is why, when asking this question, a Christian cannot stand by passively observing the situation of the world. Sinners, recalled León Escobar, are sinners both because of their actions and their failure to act, and so whoever does nothing to help the person near them when he or she needs help, when they are capable of helping, is just as much a sinner as someone who hurts another. In this respect, he wanted to make it clear that Christians cannot find consolation in formulas that lead to passiveness, like the one that says that making a mistake is human, because getting it right is just as human as getting it wrong. There are some things that a Christian cannot ignore, things that are not negotiable for a Christian, issues that we call dignity. A Christian has to live committed to defending people s dignity. And not just in their words but also in their actions because, as he recalled at the end of this address, there is nothing more perverse than a good piece of advice followed by a bad example. 15. Closure The Ideology Workshop on Values and Politics was closed by Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, Chairman of the UDC Governing Council and Llibert Cuatrecasas, Chairman of the INEHCA. The address by Llibert Cuatrecasas focused on giving a broad yet complete summary of the contributions by all the speakers, and summarising the workshop issues. Then after thanking all the speakers, attendants and organisers for their efforts, the Chairman of INEHCA laid a claim for politics as a spiritual task. In his closing speech, the Chairman of the UDC Governing Council laid a claim for the Christian Democratic values that have characterised the Unió from the time it was founded, now 82 years ago: its humanist vision rooted in Christianity, and essential Christian values such as life in society. In this respect, Duran i Lleida defined Unió as a party that defends democracy, national Catalan rights, the values of humanism and social justice. These values form the party s clear ideology, which is nationalist because

20 it is humanist and understands that the spiritual well-being of the human person depends on the health of his or her community. That is why UDC has always focused its politics on promoting social cohesion in Catalonia, and from the outset, has defended the right of Catalonia to decide its future. In this address, Duran i Lleida wanted to make it very clear that UDC s commitment to Catalonia stems from its Christian vocation, which puts the person in the centre of the community. This is why there cannot be any tension between social advances and national advances. National advances must be advances for all citizens. Catalans cannot become a State at the expense of no longer being a community. Duran i Lleida finished his speech by indicating that in these difficult times, the party had to make even more effort to make its social values noticeable. He laid a claim for the SME and the Church s social doctrine on equality, fraternity and solidarity as the best alternatives for creating a fairer society. And he emphasised how the family and Christian values are helping to soften the blows of the crisis, and the role that they must have in the future so that we can build a more humane, caring society with better expectations for a better future. His closing words were to thank INEHCA for their efforts in making this workshop possible, and also to the speakers and attendants for participating End of workshop dinner At the end of the Ideology Workshop on Values and Politics the closing dinner was held in the same hotel. This was an occasion to sum up the issues raised in the workshop, which the participants considered very successful and necessary for updating the party s values and ideology.