An appeal to work together against social exclusion: it was launched by the European Diaconal Forum, following the European Commission’s adoption of a draft joint report on “social inclusion” which reveals that 9% of the population of Europe is permanently living below the minimum poverty threshold and a further 9% in danger of poverty. The Forum, which met over the last few days in Jarvenpaa, in Finland, recommended that dialogue and collaboration be promoted between the Churches to combat poverty. Discussion within the Forum also focused on how the Churches may best respond to the challenge of terrorism. And once again the appeal to promote “dialogue with the other religious confessions, in particular Islam”, emerged as a priority. The Churches, affirms the European Diaconal Forum, “must play an active role in the effort to integrate and promote communities in a lasting way. By virtue of their Christian roots they have the responsibility to make their contribution to initiatives against violence and for peace”. The Forum was attended by over 110 representatives of the Conference of European Churches, of the European Federation for the diaconate, of the European Contact Group on mission and of the Commission of the Churches for migrants in Europe. The Forum was founded in Bratislava in 1994.
