The plenary Assembly of French bishops ends today; it was opened on 4 April with a moment of prayer in the grotto of Lourdes. Three main questions were on the order of the day. The bishops spoke of the current social crisis and the situation in the metropolitan suburbs. To this end they invited Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister of Labour and Social Cohesion, and Jean-Marie Bockel, mayor of Mulhouse, to participate in the reflection. Another question discussed by the French bishops during their plenary was the reform of the structures of the Bishops’ Conference; in particular they spoke of the vote on the new statutes and the definition of the “missions of the national services”. The third question on the agenda was: the acceptance of “traditionalist” groups in the diocesan churches.
