Faith and Politics 2022.

Climate breakdown and the biodiversity collapse; the rise of Far-Right populisms; migration pressures; the on-going consequences of the United Kingdom’s commitment to ‘Brexit’; and the human, trade, and energy crises created by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine – this is a brief and very incomplete list of the challenges facing Europe today. But there is hope that the EU – and the continent more generally – might be able to rise to meet these challenges.

That hope is strong for those of us who organised the Faith and Politics workshop in Venice early this month. Almost 20 young people from across the continent gathered in that historic city to engage in a week of formation and reflection on what a life dedicated to public service might look like in the present day. While some are already involved in electoral politics or senior positions in public administration, others were volunteer climate activists or advocates for marginalised communities. Teachers, software engineers, diplomats, this diverse bunch of strangers started the week with a shared interest and ended it with a new community of peers and a renewed sense of the direct relevance of the gospel and Christian values for our public square.

Established initially more than 15 years ago, the workshop had not run since 2018 due to the pandemic. This year represented a sort of transition for the programme as Edmond Grace, one of the founders of the workshop handed leadership over to a new team composed of members from JESC in Brussels, JCFJ in Dublin, and Aggiornamenti Sociali in Milan (with lots of help from elsewhere besides). The schedule was shaped from the outset so that this week would represent more than just an opportunity to engage in some “continuing professional development” but that it would be a sort of immersion in how to approach public service as a spiritual task, thinking about that work seriously as a Christian vocation. Intellectual and professional input was arranged alongside and surrounded by reflective practice in groups and for the individual participants themselves, equipping them to rewrite their own story of what it means to seek the common good.

The highlight of the week seems to have been the visit to the workshop by exemplars in each of those three fields of public service – the Irish parliamentarian, Peadar Tóibín, the Portuguese governmental department leader, Rosário Farmhouse, and the Maltese NGO leader (JRS Malta), Katrine Camilleri. Participants spoke of how inspiring it was to encounter mature leaders who could articulate how their faith convictions shaped their professional commitments.

The challenges facing our societies are complex and serious. But the dedication, creativity, and maturity of the participants of this workshop renewed our hope that our societies can prevail even under the pressures they now face.

Faith and Politics is presently envisioned to be a bi-annual event. Though those interested in learning more about the programme are welcome to contact us at www.faithandpolitics.eu or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kevin Hargaden, Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Dublin, Ireland