As part of the programme of the Katholikentag of the Catholics of Central Europe (MEKT), a symposium on “Society and economy in the process of change” was held at Wels, in Austria, between 28 and 30 January. Various bishops representing the eight countries participating in the Katholikentag took part in the meeting. The Catholics of Central and Eastern Europe, the contribution of the Church to the political process, the fight against poverty, the respect for Sunday as a day of rest, the social role of the faith, and society in contemporary Europe were some of the issues touched on by the main speakers, who included the archbishop of Dublin, Msgr. Diarmuid Martin. “The Catholics to the West and those to the East of the former Iron Curtain may learn from each other and bring the results of this dialogue in a constructive way to the process of the union of Europe”, said the theologian Paul Zulehner in his contribution. He also noted the existence in Western countries of “totalitarian temptations” in the fields of “consumption, research, medicine or in administration”, which need to be countered by the “possibilities of resistance” offered by religion. In his inaugural address to the symposium, Bishop Maximilian Aichern of Linz urged that “the Christian spirit” be not lost “in the pluralist societies of contemporary Europe”, “since”, he continued, “Christ was and remains the hope of Europe”. Aichern, promoter of the “alliance for Sunday as a free day”, also spoke of the need to keep Sunday as a day of rest and its repercussions at the social level. Archbishop Martin addressed the fight against poverty, which he called “a challenge for Christians in the future Europe” and stressed that in this context the Church, rather than be “the voice of the poor”, should “enable those directly concerned to speak, and place at their disposal the platforms whereby they themselves can be the protagonists of their future”.
