The 67th plenary session of the Czech Bishops’ Conference ends in Prague today, 24 January. The assembly, being held in the Capuchin convent, was preceded by an ecumenical prayer service in the house of the Moravian Brothers. The bishops and the representatives of the Churches in the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic signed the Charta Oecumenica . The faithful met their bishops on 23 January in the church of St. Ignatius, where Mass was celebrated, officiated by the President of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, Jan Graubner. Today, 24 January, the bishops will celebrate Mass together with students in the archdiocesan seminary, officiated by the Bishop of Brno, Vojtech Cikrle. Discussion at the plenary focused on preparations for national youth day to be held at Tabor (southern Bohemia), from 13 to 19 August, in preparation for World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008. Other points on the agenda: the institution of the positions of Director and President of Czech Caritas; and the proposal of Monsignor Jiri Padour for the holding of a national Eucharistic Congress. Monsignor Graubner spoke on the pastoral care of vocations.
