Thoughts, experiences, projects” “

The most significant events for the Ccee (Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe) over the last three months were the plenary assembly of Comece (Commission of the episcopate of the European Community), held in Brussels (16-18 November 2005); the visit of a delegation of European and North American bishops to the Holy Land (13-19 January 2006) to support the peace process and the life of Christians in these regions; the meeting of the Ccee Presidency at Rome (29 January 2006) and the meeting, again in Rome, of the preparatory Committee for the third European Ecumenical Assembly (Eea3, 24-27 January 2006). Forthcoming appointments: meeting in Corfu (3-6 March 2006) of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of South-East Europe; the annual meeting of the executive committee of the European Episcopal Commission for the Media (Rome, 10-12 March 2006); the 4th European University Day with the rosary with the Holy Father, during which a video link up with European and African university campuses is planned (Rome, 11 March 2006); and the meeting of the preparatory Committee for Eea3 (Sibiu, Romania, 30 March – 2 April 2006). We present a brief review of the most recent events in the life of the European Churches. BELARUS. During the 27th plenary assembly of the Bishops’ Conference of Belarus (Bcb) held in December last year, the bishops approved the Pastoral programme for 2006, aimed at promoting a deeper knowledge of the life and teachings of Pope John Paul II. A key recommendation of the programme is that the Church should pray for the process of beatification and canonization of John Paul II on the 16th of each month. During the assembly, the bishops also approved the draft Rite of the Sacrament of Matrimony in Belorussian. Thanks to the work of the Bcb’s Council for the Family and Marriage, a pamphlet containing Recommendations for the pastoral ministry to families was also published . At a rite celebrated on 10 December in the Cathedral of Minsk (confiscated by the government during the Communist regime and used as a gym), the high altar was solemnly re-consecrated and the icon of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a gift of the Servant of God John Paul II, was crowned. CZECH REPUBLIC. The amendment of a law that regulates the life of the churches has deeply shocked the life of Christians in the country. The current law discriminates against the churches and religious societies, and limits the right to decide on their internal questions and all activities relating to charity and diakonia, as also the foundation of educational and health-care institutions. Both the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the delegates of the Ecumenical Council of the Churches of the Czech Republic have strongly protested against this provision. Meanwhile new legislation on the legal recognition of homosexual unions, on euthanasia and on scientific research on stem cells is under discussion in Parliament. FRANCE. The reorganization of the national services, whose task it is to support the work of the bishops at the national, provincial and diocesan level, was one of the main questions tackled at the plenary assembly of the French Bishops’ Conference (November 2005). The specific missions of each service will be subject to cost specifications which are now being drafted and will be approved at the next assembly due to be held in Lourdes in early April. During their assembly the bishops also voted on a National text for the guidance of catechesis in France (evangelization and educational science at the service of initiation) and adopted a series of Propositions to accompany its implementation. GREECE. The pastoral ministry for divorcees was at the centre of the autumn session of the Greek Bishops’ Conference; a round table between the clergy of the Church and the Bishops’ Conference was also held on the same question at the seat of the Exarchate in Athens. The reflection was subdivided into three sections, devoted respectively to the theological, canonical and pastoral aspects of the theme. The main priorities fixed by the bishops are: helping divorced couples as much as possible, in particular those who have contracted a second marriage, invalid for the Catholic Church; ensuring that all future spouses have access to systematic catechesis in preparation for the sacrament of matrimony; and, subsequently, providing pastoral and spiritual counselling and guidance for married couples. HUNGARY. The last months of 2005 were marked by conflicts between the Church and the present Hungarian government. In spite of the accords stipulated between the State and the Holy See, the government decided to reduce, as from 2006, its support to Catholic schools and other Christian schools. After various protests by the Church, some groups of parents organized a demonstration against the government’s decision in which some 30,000 people participated. The Parliament modified some points of the Budget, but voted most of the provisions considered discriminatory by the Church. Consequently, the Bishops’ Conference is preparing, together with the other Christian Churches in the country, a petition to present to the Hungarian Constitutional Court. LITHUANIA. Two sessions of the plenary assembly of the Lithuanian bishops were held between November 2005 and December 2006. The main questions on the agenda were: the regulations and activities of the Commissions and Councils of the Bishops’ Conference, preparation for confession and first communion in the various dioceses, the final approval of the document Regulations for book-keeping for juridical personalities of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, and norms regarding the preparation for the sacrament of matrimony, especially for those living abroad. The bishops also condemned the use of religious symbols in advertising, in particular in advertisements for alcoholic drinks, as in a recent case that deeply shocked the religious feelings of the population. ROMANIA. In December 2005 Benedict XVI raised the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, Metropolitan Church sui iuris, to the level of Archdiocesan Major Church. At the same time Lucian Muresan, metropolitan archbishop, currently President of the Romanian Bishops’ Conference, was promoted to the dignity of archbishop major of Fagaras and Alba Iulia of the Romanians. So, after 15 years, the Romanian Church has received the status that permits it to administer itself alone in various spheres of church life. In November 2005, moreover, after over 50 years’ absence, the Greek-Catholic faithful of Oradea were finally able to return to their cathedral, which was expropriated and consigned to the Orthodox Church under the Communist regime in 1948, and has now been finally restored to them, after many years of unremitting dialogue. SCOTLAND. Following the recent legislative amendment that diminishes the importance of marriage and the family, the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland (BCS) has re-stated the Church’s teaching on marriage, through the media and through a pastoral letter of the Commission for Christian doctrine and unity, and has stressed the need for legislators to respect and support its role in society. A joint message on baptism was drawn up by a work group composed of members of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference and the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). The aim of the document is to underline the key points on which both sides agree and the spheres on which convergence has not yet been reached. With regard to the proposal of the UK government to replace the Trident nuclear armament system with a new generation of nuclear weapons, the Bsc has re-iterated its own message of 1982 that condemned the use of such weapons by Great Britain, and announced that it is preparing a new document to send to the government on the matter. SLOVAKIA. Three statements were published by the Slovak bishops at the end of their 52nd plenary assembly held in November. The first concerns the social and economic situation of the country, the second supports the petition of the faithful against reality shows on television, while the third regards the petition of the faithful for the approval of a particular accord between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See on the right of conscientious objection. SLOVENIA. On 13 November, feast of St. Stanislao, the diocesan classical lycée named after the saint in Ljubliana celebrated its centenary. The school, whose stated aim was and is to educate the new generations in the deepest values of the Slovene tradition rooted in Christianity, was the first to teach in the Slovene language. On 29 January, to mark the Day for Holy Scripture, the Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Churches proclaimed 2007 “Year of Holy Scripture”. The events on the calendar include the Biblical Festival and the World Congress of biblical scholars that the International Organization of Old Testament Studies is preparing in Ljubljana. UKRAINE ( Latin Rite). The 15th anniversary of the renewal of the diocesan structures ordered by John Paul II was celebrated throughout Ukraine on 16 January. During the Soviet period, John Paul II had nominated 2 diocesan bishops of the Latin rite and 2 auxiliary bishops in the country; at the same time he had proclaimed several Greek-Catholic bishops who were then living in the underground. It was a courageous and farsighted decision, because since the end of the Second World War the Ukrainian Church had neither bishops nor seminaries, religious communities had disappeared and only a handful of priest were left. At the present time there are 7 dioceses of the Latin rite, 11 bishops, 3 major seminaries, a College of Catechists and some provinces of male and female religious orders in Ukraine. Caritas is also active within the country, and the country is now able to transmit radio and television programmes and publish articles in papers and magazines.