Signs of the time

At the invitation of the Bishops’ Conference of Belarus, the general secretaries of the 34 Bishops’ Conference of Europe met in Minsk for their annual meeting from 14 to 18 June. This year the meeting, promoted as usual by the CCEE (Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe), had as its theme “Migrations: a challenge for Europe”. It was opened by a solemn eucharistic celebration with the bishops of Belarus in the cathedral of Minsk on 14 June. The rite was officiated by the Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Martin Vidovi?. On the following day the general secretaries met Philaret, Orthodox Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk and Exarch of the Patriarch of Moscow of all Belarus. A survey on the commitment of the European Churches to the safeguard of the environment was presented during the meeting. Here is a résumé of the conclusions of the meeting. The phenomenon of migrations is a “real sign of the times” and “each country is seriously having to come to terms with it”. “The Church is concerned by the social problems linked to the phenomenon of migrations: illegality, unemployment, ageing of the population in the countries of origin, trafficking of persons, break up of families, children growing up without their parents… The charity and solidarity of Christians are an urgent and immediate response to these challenges. But what is decisive is a political commitment at the global level to tackle the root causes that lead to forced migration: poverty, violence, injustice and unemployment. Equally decisive is the cultural commitment to fostering the centrality of the person, to combating xenophobia, often inflamed by the media, and to supporting real integration that may protect and enhance people’s identity. In particular, “the Bishops’ Conferences tackle the pastoral questions posed by migration: pastoral assistance to the various ethnic groups present in the country, the promotion of the contribution made by groups of immigrants from other countries to the life of the local Church, and the exchange of personnel for pastoral care. Migration has also brought with it the ecumenical reality and the meeting between different faiths, which is something new for some countries”. The “deepening of catholicity is also a leitmotif of the activities on the agenda of the CCEE. The participation of a delegation of European bishops in the General Conference of the bishops of Latin America, held at Aparecida in Brazil from 15 to 31 May, and inaugurated by the Pope, signified”, among other things, “the determination to seek new ways of collaboration between the Churches of the two continents”, similar to what is already happening in relations between European and African bishops. The general secretaries also underlined “the need for cultural commitment and for a pastoral mission to culture”, a question that will be discussed at the forthcoming meeting on the universities of Europe (Rome, 21-24 June). With reference to EEA3 (Third European Ecumenical Assembly, Sibiu 4-9 September), “an impasse in the ecumenical process is being registered in some countries, but in others [ecumenical] meetings and events that never took place before are now being realized… The success of the Assembly will depend a great deal on the ability to re-interpret the problems of Europe and of the world in the light that comes from the Christian Revelation”. “The Church in Europe is looking attentively at the process of European unification”, say the representatives of the CCEE, and reflecting on the future of the Constitutional Treaty and the role of the Church. There was unanimous “consent on the need for a European network of Christian laity able to contribute to the search for solutions to bioethical, social and legal problems”. The CCEE lastly underlined the need “to place on the agenda a reflection on the relation between the Church and public life with regard to human rights and ‘conflicts’ between rights”.