The Austrian bishops met for their spring plenary assembly at Lambach from 7 to 10 March. The issues on the agenda included the 60th anniversary of the birth of the second Austrian Republic, overseas aid, and WYD in Cologne. In recalling the birth of modern Austria, the bishops, in their final communiqué, underlined the Church’s “essential” role in the re-constitution of Austria and affirmed the “decisive” contribution of the Church and Catholics in the “history of the successes of the second Republic”, thanks to which “in spite of all the problems, Austria is a country that offers its inhabitants security, peace, prosperity and great opportunities”. With regard to cooperation in the development of the poor countries, the Bishops’ Conference supports “the initiatives and provisions adopted to achieve the Millennium Development Goals” formulated by the UNO at the international level. The bishops also support the “campaign for the allocation of 0.7% of GDP to overseas aid”. Another topic discussed by the bishops at their plenary assembly is the imminent World Youth Day in Cologne; they urge young Austrians to participate in it. In presenting the event, the bishop in charge of youth ministry, Msgr. Franz Lackner declared: “Cologne will be a profound spiritual event: the meeting together of youth from all over the world renders visible the Church as community of the faithful in Christ”. Preparations are busily going ahead in all Austrian dioceses: the 40 Köln 2005 (“K05”) teams formed by 300 youth are preparing for WYD with a series of discussions, exchanges and prayers.
