Redes Cristianas is a Spanish member group of the European Network Church on the Move

Final Declaration: Liberating Actions Today

We have met on this occasion under the slogan: “Liberating Actions Today”.

But from what must men and women liberate themselves in this second decade of the XXIst Century? What or who are taking away or constraining our liberty?

The answer is nothing other than a system that produces inequality and an accelerated destruction of our habitat and of our values with violence (against women, immigrants, the poorest and most vulnerable people) whilst a few priveliged persons, which favours their interests, help to consolidate and perpetuate this situation;

A system that is globalising the economy and fabricating a single dominant thinking that favours the priveliged few and is destroying values and human rights;

A system that is sustained by a technology that, doubtless, is changing the world for the better in many aspects, but which, at the same time, permits levels of control and manipulation of persons unparalleled in history;

A system that is building a society disguised as pluralism and empowerment of citizens, which alienates us with enormous doses of disinformation and falsehood, by means of ommipresent imprecise power structures, that are difficult to combat, since

they are found in the deepest level of our mass culture and in the predatory consumerism that devours us;

A system based on powers that contain such a high degree of efficiency that they have captured all the levers of social governance and all the public institutions.

It is because of all this that we need to ask ourselves about the need to liberate our society and our Church; a liberation that we consider urgent, since ever more “diluted” and subtle levels of oppression and exploitation change, transpose, but persist and are strengthened. From a collective analysis of the situation and from possible alternative experiences, centred on ethics, solidarity and justice and by means of a methodology of collective learning (all women and men learn from all other men and women), both, on the road (a dynamic focus) and significative (promoting change).

We require: from the best women and men amongst us, prophets who know how to read our current reality and take action accordingly, placing their lives at the service of a new society (like Gaspar García Laviana) whom we have remembered during these days, like our friend Jaume whom we have also remembered, and so many anonymous others);

We require a spirituality not exclusively defined by institutionalised religions and which is fed by the dialogue between all the philosophical ideologies and religious beliefs;

We require a demanding, interrelated, organized, colaborative and critical general public that builds fully democratic participative environments where diverse cultures, traditions, races, minorities and religions can cooperate for the common good and for a radical care of persons and of Nature, where the struggle for the equality of men and women can succeed in changing this violent patriarchal society, in which the numbers of discarded and excluded, the migrants who search for a place to live with dignity, continue to increase.

Where are, today, the greatest inequalities in our society? What are the obstacles? Who is opposed to equality? What can we do to advance towards that equality that we dream of. Is our religion equalitarian and liberating? What commitments can we undertake in Redes Cristianas, in our own member groups, at a personal level?

How can we foster a communitarian and ecological conscience? How can we put into practice a true participative democracy at all levels: neighbourhood, municipal, regional, nationwide, supranational, worldwide? How can we nurture a collective will, popular empowerment, non-violent action?

In our Conference and by means of the different workshops, we have tried to arouse awareness by our own personal experiences: identifying together the different types of mysoginist and chauvinist violence towards migrant women and men;

By generating commitments for change at individual and group level in our way to learn and assimilate information, by interchanging reports, reflecting on how to identify correct information and the difficulties and oportunities offered by the present communication media;

By offering alterntives towards personal, community and social liberation, promoting a spirituality of open eyes, with others questioning us both from an ecological paradigm and that of our common habitat.

The policies against climate change advance more slowly than the need to combat it, the rich countries have greater resources to adapt their societies, whilst the poor countries are already suffering its effects, especially by drought.

We have also questioned ourselves on the reason for the failure of migration policies, of the current causes of this phenomenon: wars, arms trafficking, neocolonialism, natural disasters..·and what we are doing: cooperation policies, downturning growth, ecological footprint…, welcoming experiences, that are clearly insufficient.

Redes Cristianas is committed to freely cooperating with people who want to campaign for a future of greater justice, with more peace and greater equality: social movements, ecologists, proponents of a more responsible consumption and a circular and sustainable economy, feminist and migrant movements, religious groups of whatever tradition.

All this from the resolute defence of laicist secularism and from an open spirituality, rooted in the good news of Jesus of Nazareth, prophet of liberation.

It is not possible to work effectively for a renovated and excellent society from an individualist perspective, from groups hermetically closed to others and to their nearest environment, from what only nourishes us and our families.

Redes Cristianas was created to instrumentalise a greater coordination, to ensure that the voice and liberating actions of our member groups was heard louder and achieved a greater social advocacy.

In this Vith Conference, we ratify these objectives and we propose to continue working to add to our efforts amongst ourselves and with whatever religious or secular movement of civil society that is also promoting “Liberating Actions Today”.

Translated by Hugo Castelli Eyre