Social reforms and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the pontificate of John Paul II: these, among others, are the events commented on by the German press. “We find ourselves once again in a week of decision. Once again“, writes Stephan Hebel in the Frankfurter Rundschau (13/10). “This time, with or without the Hartz commission [i.e. the government commission set up to formulate social reforms], the immediate consequence will be the dismantling of the social security system. On Friday, when German MPs go to vote, they will bring with them not only an opinion: to the plenary assembly they will also bring their conscience. They must do so: on the basis of the Constitution, they are “subjects” only of this intimate moral compulsion. Or at least in theory“. “ Reforms! Reforms!“, headlines the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (15/10), which analyses the draft reform proposed by the opposition: “Now, the debate on the social reforms has even reached the European Union“, points out Paul Nolte. “The times in which one quietly watched the disintegration of the parties in the government have passed. […] What’s at issue here is a real cultural conflict between traditionalists and modernisers, and both positions are present in all the parties“. To the 25th anniversary of the pontificate of John Paul II is dedicated an article by Christiane Kohl, published by the Süddeutsche Zeitung (13/10). “Karol Wojtyla’s pontificate that now stretches over twenty-five years already forms part of history, and in spite of that it is ever more actual, as he is himself“. The Pope “is a leader of the revolt against the spirit of the time and at the same time a statesman who gives voice to the mute. He’s a solitary saint who can lose himself in the adoration of a Marian image and at the same time a powerful head of the Church for whom the traditionalist label means being above any innovation, including the exclusion of women from the priesthood“. The weekly “ Der Spiegel” (13/10) also devotes its attention to the event: “His supporters acclaim him as a pop icon. […] The cardinals of the whole world are coming to Rome to celebrate him, but also to test the ground for a possible successor to the ageing pontiff”. The “post-war” situation in Iraq with the terrorist attacks that continue to cause deaths and the frequent “uprisings” of the population -, continue to monopolise the attention of the international press. The hypothesis of a new UN resolution is the front-page story in the Herald Tribune (14/10), in which Brian Knowlton notes that “the new US language does not offer a fixed deadline for the final transfer of power, nor does it intend substantially to expand the political authority of the USA in Iraq, as various members of the Security Council, and the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, had recommended”. The new document, “circulated at the weekend but not yet formally introduced”, notes the author of the article, would however like to “realise the central American objective: get a UN resolution passed that would significantly inspire the contribution of the international allies to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq”. “The USA wants to make access to the market of the reconstruction of Iraq fairer”, is the headline carried by Le Monde (15/10) announcing a “mini Marshall Plan” for Iraq, to be launched at the beginning of November. It would have as its purpose writes Marc Roche “reducing the scepticism of non-American businesses in a possible participation in the reconstruction of Iraq”. “Iraqi Christians have a role to play” in the country’s reconstruction: convinced of this is the bishop of Kirkuk, Father Louis Zako, interviewed by Francois d’Alancon in La Croix ( 14/10). “We have a need for a reformed and strong Chaldaean Church, conscious of its raison d’être in Iraq”, maintains the bishop, who declares himself “optimistic” with regard to the “particular responsibility” of his church in post-Saddam Iraq. Also in the French Catholic daily, in its edition of 13 October, an inquiry is begun on the question “Does money rule the world”? The first “dossier” is dedicated to the “history of this means of exchange, whose development has accompanied that of civilization”. “Examining money in all its forms”, as a tool dominated by “greed”, “power”, and “domination”, but also as a “means of freedom, discovery, communication and solidarity”: that, explains Guillaume Goubert in an editorial, is the aim of an inquiry which for five weeks will tackle the theme “without prejudices, without taboos, with a wish to understand and accept rather than to judge and pontificate”. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1240 N.ro relativo : 70 Data pubblicazione : 18/10/2003
