” “Thoughts, experiences, projects

Collegiality between the Episcopal Conferences, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, and the role of the Church in European culture and society, have been, as usual, at the centre of the activities of the continent’s episcopates in recent months. While the meeting of the CCEE (Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe) on the safeguard of the creation has just ended at St. Gallen in Switzerland, the consultation on the situation of ecumenism in Eastern Europe and on the process of the Charta oecumenica, promoted by the EECC and the Conference of European Churches (KEK), is still in progress at Leanyfálu, in Hungary (it ends on 30 November). Forthcoming meetings of the CCEE include a meeting of the delegations of the European and North American bishops in Jerusalem on peace in the Holy Land (12-15 January 2004) and a meeting of the joint CCEE-KEK committee at Opole (Poland) from 29 January to 1st February 2004. We present below a brief review of the various activities and projects of the European Churches in the last three months. Albania. Roughly a thousand Albanian pilgrims, accompanied by their bishops, participated in the ceremony for the beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on 19 October. They included an “ecumenical and interreligious delegation” composed of representatives of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania and of the Sunni and Bektasci Moslem communities. Accompanying them, and representing the Catholic Church, was Msgr. Dodë Gjergji, chairman of the ecumenical and interreligious commission of the Albanian Episcopal Conference. Belarus. The bishops approved the statutes of the parishes in response to the requirement of the new law on confessions and religious freedom. Meanwhile the process of state registration of the parishes continues in all the dioceses. With the exception of Grodno, the registration and granting of visas to foreign priests and men and women religious have so far occurred without any restrictions. Bosnia-Herzegovina. The 29th session of the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina was held at Sarajevo in late October. Reflection focused on the current socio-political situation, the accords with the Holy See, school reform, war indemnities, the law on the statute of the religious communities, the letter of the bishops to mark the 40th anniversary of the Council’s Constitution on the liturgy, and the reform and completion of the current statute of Caritas. Germany. The German Bishops’ Conference published a new document on Christians and Moslems in Germany in recent weeks. Its aim is to offer guidelines and responses to the challenges posed to the Church and to society by the ever growing number of Moslems in the country. Apart from providing concise information on the various currents of Islam and on the fundamental elements of Moslem faith and practice, the text tackles some pastoral and social questions. Particular issues linked to the current public debate are also treated: the slaughter of animals, the Islamic headscarf, the construction of mosques. Lithuania. The Lithuanian Episcopal Conference met in plenary session from 2 to 5 October. In the light of the document Pastor Gregis the bishops renewed their own commitment to the pastoral mission and also discussed the situation of the Catholic press in the country. They decided, in this regard, to review the system of distribution, so that Catholic publications may reach as large a number of readers as possible. They also approved the text for the celebration of the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, and now await the Holy See’s approval. Malta. The documents of the diocesan synod held in Malta from June 2001 to April of this year were published in recent weeks. In all, 27 meetings of the synodal assembly were held, with the participation of 260 members representing the various dimensions and institutions of the Church. Eight documents were approved on: Church as communion; relation between culture, society and Church; Christian laity; proclamation of the Word; liturgy and sacraments; diaconia and justice; marriage and the family; adolescents and the young. A central commission has been set up for the implementation of these documents. Various work groups in the parishes, associations and Catholic schools will back it up. Poland. European integration, Church-State relations, commitment of the Church in support of the unemployed, public and Catholic media, situation and prospects of ecumenical dialogue, military apostolate and aid to the Churches of Eastern Europe: these were the main issues tackled by the Polish bishops meeting in plenary session on 21/22 October. The bishops, on this occasion, also addressed a pastoral letter to the faithful on the commandments of the Church and signed two declarations, one on the inviolability of human life, and the other on the fundamental values in the future constitutional treaty of the European Union. Czech Republic. The 52nd plenary Assembly of the Czech bishops was held in October. The main focus of attention were the situation of Church-State relations, which have deteriorated following the failure of Parliament to approve the agreement signed between the Holy See and the government of the country, the preparation of the Ratio studiorum by the Commission for the doctrine of the faith, and the activity of Caritas. The bishops also discussed how best they could contribute to the activities of the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Union (COMECE), and approved the plan for the development of their own Catholic weekly. Romania. All the Catholic bishops of Romania, of both the Latin and Greek-Catholic rites, met together in Bucharest in October. During the meeting, a session was held in honour of John Paul II at the Romanian Academy, in which the patriarch Teoctist also participated. The issues discussed included Catholic regulations on mixed marriages with Orthodox or Protestants, the translation of the Liturgy of the Hours into Romanian, and the creation of an Internet site for families. Russia. The plenary assembly of Caritas of the European region of Russia was held in Moscow in September. In the same period, the eleventh academic year of the “Maria Regina apostolorum” Seminary was inaugurated at St. Petersburg. The International Congress of the Rosary was held in October, again in St. Petersburg, while a Russian delegation participated in the first Congress of the Catholic Laity of Eastern Europe, held in Kiev from 8 to 11 October. Scandinavia. The plenary assembly of the Scandinavian Episcopal Conference was held in September. At the centre of the bishops’ attention was the proposed reform of the law on marriages in Norway, on the basis of which spouses would have to give to the Catholic priest, as representative of the State, a written declaration acknowledging the principle of freedom of conscience and recognizing each other’s right to divorce. The bishops have expressed their own opposition to the bill in question to the Norwegian government. They said it would deprive the sacrament of matrimony of its validity, and have informed the Holy See accordingly. Byzantine Ukraine. The Synod of the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, with the participation of 34 bishops of the Ukraine and the diaspora, was held in Lvov in late September. Apart from questions of an administrative character, the Synod examined the resolutions of the Sobor patriarcale (patriarchal conference) held in Lvov during the summer of 2002, and also published a pastoral letter on the family. The first Congress of the Catholic Laity of Eastern Europe was held in Kiev from 8 to 12 October. Promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, it was attended by fourteen delegations of the countries of the former Soviet Union. Theme of the Congress: “Being witnesses of Christ today”. Two fundamental needs emerged from the conclusions: the need to deepen the consciousness of the mission of evangelization and witness among the baptized, and the need to reinforce unity between the Christian communities. Hungary. The representatives of the thirteen Christian Churches of Hungary signed an agreement with the national radio corporation in recent weeks. The agreement regulates the programmes of the individual Churches. In October the Hungarian Episcopal Conference organized the “Day of Catholic Education”, a national festival of Catholic schools, in which some 12,000 people took part. There are now 309 Catholic institutions in the country’s public school system.