20 participants from different universities such as scholars, students, institute directors met on June 4th 2024 at the EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) in Paris, following the invitation of two young students, who had participated at the conference at the Sophia university on Ecology last January. It wanted to be a study day to consider whether to form a group between Christians and Marxist/Socialists, a DIALOP unit for France. One member of the international coordination team was also invited to be there.
The participants expressed the need and the urgency of such a dialogue, motivated by the Position paper and the methodology of the differentiated consensus and the qualified dissent. Considering a growing conservatism within the Catholic Church, the concern to fight against the instrumentalization of religions for political ends, the question of anti-fascism, the need to exhume a dialogue that has existed in France, the upheaval represented by the ecological crisis, the predatory capitalism as a common enemy, the fact that fear has become a very strong political affect in France, all these and more others issues underlined the reasons and the interest knots that brought people together. Bringing into existence a place of dialogue allows to reflect on the articulation between faith and politics. The desire to open a nourishing meeting place that encourage each other in reflection and in hope, a dialogue to change things and change oneself, were eventually the common conclusion at the end of this day. We will hear more about this experience which in these days is becoming extremely necessary in France and in Europe.
All the best to the French friends for this new start!
Debriefing after the meeting of June 4, at Michael Löwy’s home in Paris