“Economy at the service of life”: with this slogan a study day organized by the Örkö (Austrian Ecumenical Council) in collaboration with Austria’s Commission of Iustitia et Pax was held in Vienna in recent days. The meeting, held in preparation for the Third European Ecumenical Assembly due to open in Sibiu in September 2007, was dedicated to the prospects of sustainable economy and a secure future. The meeting was attended by the Austrian delegates of the various Churches that will take part in Sibiu 2007. Participants included the chairman of the Ecumenical Council of Austrian Churches, the Evangelical bishop Herwig Sturm, the Professor of social ethics Leopold Neuhold and Evangelical theologian Barbara Rauchwarter. At the end of the meeting, the Greek-Orthodox Metropolitan of Austria, Michael Staikos, recited an ecumenical “laud of the creation”. Even before the meeting, Sturm had underlined the “particular responsibility of the Churches for a sustainable economy and prudent management of natural resources”. Interviewed by the Austrian Catholic press agency Kathpress, Sturm referred to what he saw as the “great potential of the Churches as a whole in terms of personnel and finance”: “A more responsible management of their energy needs by the Churches would have significant effects in Europe”, he said, adding that he anticipated important “expressions of their willingness” to act also in this direction during the ecumenical assembly in Sibiu. “The Churches must pledge to pursue a new – and more sustainable – way of life, and assume a leading role in this sense. Many people are awaiting a sign of this kind. The future of our children and our grandchildren is being decided now”, concluded Sturm.
