“The memory of the contribution of Catholics and the new responsibilities that the future involves” for a “project of democracy” that would combine “the defence of rights with the appeal to duties”: these are the two key ideas that will be the focal points of the 45th Social Week of Italian Catholics, due to be held at Pistoia and Pisa (in Tuscany) from the 18 to 21 October. This year’s event marks the centenary of the first important national event of Italian lay Catholics held at Pisa from 23 to 28 September 1907 on the initiative of Giuseppe Toniolo, a protagonist of the Catholic movement at the turn of the century. The slogan of the centenary event is: “The common good today: a commitment that comes from afar”. The first day of the Social Week, which will open at Pistoia on 18 October (at 4.00 pm), will be dedicated to the centenary of this traditional event in the life of the Italian Church, with speeches from (among others) the President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco. On the following day (19 October), at Pisa, the delegates will debate the “common good in the age of globalization” and “State, market and tertiary sector”. “The prospects of bio policy” and “education and training” are the main topics on the agenda on 20 October, while on the final day (21 October) the “future” of the common good will be examined, with a round table chaired by Father Michele Simone, deputy director of the Jesuit review “Civiltà cattolica”, preceded by an address by Msgr. Aldo Giordano, secretary of the CCEE. The conclusions of the Social Week will be drawn by Giuseppe Dalla Torre, Rector of LUMSA. Info: www.settimanesociali.it.
