Ecumenism and the environment at the centre of the activities of the European Churches in recent months. Summary of the various initiatives” “
Churches and the future of Europe, impulse to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, concern for the environment: these are some of the issues at the centre of the activities conducted by the European bishops’ conferences in recent months. We present below a summary of the most significant events that have distinguished the life of the various Churches. Albania. The text of a basic agreement for regulating reciprocal relations was signed by the Albanian government and the Holy See, in the presence of Albanian prime minister Pandeli Majko and Apostolic Nuncio Msgr. Giovanni Bulaitis, on 23 March; it will, inter alia, permit the recognition of the juridical personality of various Church institutions. Austria. “Christ, hope for Europe” is the theme of the Day of Catholics of Central Europe 2003/2004 promoted by eight Episcopal Conferences (Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria) which will open on 31 May 2003. To mark the occasion, a joint pastoral letter will be published for the first time. The programme of events also includes a symposium promoted by the Austrian bishops on “Application of the social doctrine of the Church”. It will conclude with a pilgrimage to the Marian sanctuary at Mariazell (Austria) on 22 and 23 May 2004. Belarus. Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek consecrated the first new church in the country since 1917 at Czausy, in the east of the country. The Franciscan “Niepokalanow” centre was opened at Udzial, in the diocese of Vitebsk, on 24 June, permitting the return of the Franciscan Fathers after an absence of 150 years. Bosnia Herzegovina. The Episcopal Conference held its 25th plenary session at Banja Luka from 16 to 18 July. Among the questions discussed: religious teaching in schools, the return of refugees to the country, and the proclamation of the country’s first Blessed, the layman Ivan Merz. Greece. The general assembly of the bishops was held from 12 to 16 May. The bishops examined the proposal of the legal council regarding the question of the juridical personality of the Catholic Church which, in contrast to that of the Orthodox Church, is not yet recognized by the State. Lithuania. Abortions and suicides: two scourges that are continually growing in the country and that were addressed in two pastoral letters published by the bishops, respectively on 10 May and 11 July. Poland. On 16 May, Cardinal Jozef Glemp presided over the celebration of the first Mass in honour of the new patron saint of the country, St. Andrzej Bobol, in the sanctuary dedicated to him in Warsaw. Romania. The reliquary of St. Theresa of Lisieux, preserved in the basilica of Lisieux, was exposed in five dioceses (two Greek-Catholic and three Latin rite) from 15 to 21 July. Ten of thousands of faithful, both Catholics and Orthodox, prayed together in front of the reliquary in all the country’s main cities. Russia. The first volume of the Catholic Encyclopaedia in Russian was presented to John Paul II in the Vatican in April. The publication of the second edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in Russian followed. Scandinavia. The autumn plenary assembly of the Scandinavian Bishops’ Conference, held at Tromsö, in Norway, ended on 18 September. Two main issues were on the agenda: a declaration on brotherhood in multicultural communities and in society, and a stance on the opportunities and risks of genetics. Ukraine. The foundation of the Ukrainian Catholic University, the first to be founded in the vast territory of the former Soviet Union, was celebrated on 29 June, in the presence of Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, with the reading of its founding charter in the Opera House of Lvov. Hungary. The publication by the Bishops’ Conference of a document on bioethics and the establishment of a Catholic radio station in the country are imminent. Giovanna Pasqualin Traversa
