In the face of certain wounds, one feels a pressing need to remain silent. This is my experience as I sit to write this editorial. 

Since Ekklesía’s beginnings, we have felt the need to put ourselves squarely in front of the many wounds afflicting the Church today, and in particular those inflicted on the innocent and indefensible through the actions of some members of the Church. Yet we also quickly realized it was not just another topic to write about. First and foremost, we needed to enter into and recognize this reality for what it was. It calls us to an attitude of service and love before every neighbor, and also to the same impassioned commitment to Church renewal that we see reflected in the life of Chiara Lubich (1920 – 2008) whose centennial we celebrate this year. 

In this changing era, Ekklesía dedicated its first five issues to highlighting pathways by which we can better follow Jesus today as Christians, such as through the Spirit’s ever surprising works and the emerging mysticism of the "we" as an ecclesial and communitarian reality; the interreligious appeal for fraternity signed during the historic Abu Dhabi encounter; the path of synodality as integral part of the Church’s DNA; and our recent, important issue published on youth, for which the Catholic Church dedicated a Synod of Bishops and is a passionate topic strongly shared by other non-Catholic Christians as well.

Yet, the painful abuse scandal involving members of the clergy, along with other wounds shaping the Church’s journey today, continue to call out to us. Although impossible to address these complex issues in-depth here, we feel pushed to try to open one small window in this regard. For this, we consider here the thought and writings of Blessed Antonio Rosmini, theologian Piero Coda, and others. 

If our faith is rooted in the crucified, abandoned, and resurrected Christ, we cannot turn away from unresolved questions, failures, and challenges. They are linked to grave errors of sexual abuse, power and poorly exercised leadership, as well as other obstacles preventing us from giving a Gospel witness in today’s world. 

Before all these wounds, faith calls us to hope in the "resurrection" and to search for glimmers of light. Thus, this same issue also includes an article by Bishop Christian Krause, former president of the Lutheran World Federation, as well as other contributions such as an interview on war-torn Syria, a profile of confessor of the faith, Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyęn Văn Thuận, and the work of Capuchin Fathers in the Amazon.

Our hope is that today’s era, so marked by darkness, divisions, and sufferings even within the fabric of the Church itself, will one day experience the seeds of rebirth. From the deepest of wounds, from the Wound of Jesus’ abandonment lived on the cross, may we begin a hope-filled journey of conversion and renewal both as individuals and as a Church. 
 

Hubertus Blaumeiser