The European conference of Christian lawyers

Beautiful and impressive; that was the European Gathering of Christians in Legal Professions in late September at Campus Horn (Austria). A lovely location and lovely weather – yes, that too. But above all: rich content, impressive speeches, wonderful encounters. A full programme, but also room for mutual contact and conversation. There was so much content that I cannot give an adequate summary here of everything that was said, done and experienced. So this will be a personal impression.

The conference

Around 180 participants from (if I remember correctly) sixteen EU and 21 non-EU countries, from all kinds of legal professions and from countless church denominations – isn’t that a recipe for disaster? No, it isn’t. It turns out it can all fit together very harmoniously; almost gracefully. In the welcome address at the start of the conference, participants are urged: “Be expective, be friendly, engage oecumenically, feel free”. That last one refers to the programme: don’t let it become a straitjacket, feel free to deviate from it. And: “Be active, not just an observer; be intentional”.

All very nice. But: “oaks of righteousness” – that was the motto of the conference; isn’t that a bit presumptuous? What does it mean? Are we that? Should we be? Can you become that? And how?

Martin Franke, a lawyer in Frankfurt, explains what it means on the basis of Isaiah 61. According to that passage, it concerns: the humble, the broken-hearted, the prisoners, the captives, those who mourn; in short: “the needy”. Here we find ourselves in the atmosphere of the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. There, transformation is promised to these “needy”: you are “blessed”! It doesn’t always feel that way, but we can accept it in faith. And then these “needy” become oaks of righteousness, priests of the Lord, servants of our God; read Isaiah 61, verses 1–11. Are you one of those “needy ones”? Then you are an “oak of righteousness”! Say that to yourself in faith, because you are. And: “act on it”.

In two speeches, Jasmin Avdagic, a lawyer in Sibenik (Croatia), vividly shows how you become such an oak. Oak trees can grow enormously large. But even the greatest oak grew from a tiny acorn, barely a centimetre across. We were all given such an “acorn” to take home. I have already lost mine: I put it down somewhere, I can’t remember where; it’s so small that you simply lose it. What does it take to grow from such a little acorn into a great oak: nothing but faith, “surrender and submit”, and humility.

The oaks of Isaiah 61 will “rebuild the ancient ruins, raise up the age-old devastations, and renew the ruined cities”. In Isaiah, of course, this refers to Israel. Jeff Fountain, founder of the Schuman Centre for European Studies, showed how European unification is based on Christian values. The three “founding fathers”, Schuman, Adenauer and De Gasperi, were devout Catholics who consciously drew their political motivation from their faith. Those Christian values are rather forgotten nowadays; in legal studies, the subject of European law usually makes no mention of them. They are also under pressure. With his institute, Jeff works to bring those old values back into the spotlight. And he encouraged his listeners to contribute in that same spirit. The EU is not “merely” a – more or less successful – economic project; it is a community of values that stands for peace, freedom, justice, security, cooperation and solidarity. Politicians should convey that message far more. It is true that the enormous volume of economic regulation produced by the EU can easily obscure the view of those values. But a Europe defined only in economic terms is not destined for a long life, nor does it inspire. If our politicians do not say this, then we must. Jeff had been given no more than an hour to speak on this, but he could effortlessly talk about it for three hours, or three days, or three weeks. Two years ago I was able to attend a three-day seminar of his on “the making of Europe”; fascinating.

Encounters

In smaller circles and in personal conversations, you hear much more about the things people themselves are working on. And about the difficulties they face in their own countries. Those are considerable. Corruption, obstruction, being ignored, legislation restricting freedom of religion; and in some countries even violence and situations of war. How good we have it in the Netherlands – relatively, that is. Of course, our government is not perfect either. Mistakes are made and there are structural abuses. But they seem small when you hear the stories from less fortunate countries.

So what should we do? Several answers to that question have already been given above. There is no “silver bullet”. It is a matter of getting to work; and of thinking big, acting small. Also impressive, therefore, was the Sunday morning service, led by an Anglican minister. Representatives from eight countries stood up when asked who wanted to start something in their own country. Not an organisation, but a network. The entire conference prayed for them, and hymns of praise resounded in the austere chapel. For praise and prayer are core elements in the work of the various networks and were also recurring elements throughout the conference. Under the motto: “Prayer (is) where the lawyers do their best work”. Can you, reader of this blog, say that for yourself as well?