The plenary assembly of the Czech Bishops’ Conference (CBK) was held in Prague last week. During their meeting the bishops approved a six-year programme called “The learning Church”. It is aimed at helping priests to choose suitable themes, base themselves on the liturgical readings and present the doctrine of the Church in all its fullness. The programme will be launched on 2 December, the first Sunday of Advent. The Czech bishops approved the CBK budget for 2007 and the statutes of the Czech Catholic Biblical Institute. Also on the agenda of the plenary was discussion of the reports of the various committees and councils, including the Youth Council and its preparations for National Youth Day, due to be held at Tabor in August. The Czech bishops also discussed participation on the European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu, in Romania, due to be held in September this year. The CBK discussed, in addition, Church-State relations, approving a joint declaration on the Memorandum on the reform of relations between State and Church in the Czech Republic of 16 March 2006. At the end of the plenary, some members of the Bishops’ Conference met with the President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus in the castle of Lany. According to Archbishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc, President of the CBK, the meeting was “informal” and its aim was not to discuss recent issues relating to relations between Church and State. “The meeting was informative in nature and took place in a cordial atmosphere”, he concluded.
