Bishop Klaus Küng of Feldkirch (Austria) has appealed for a “breakthrough in society in favour of marriage and the family” (see also the report on another page in this number). The bishop was speaking at Brno (Czech Republic) on 12 May, during the sixth symposium on the demographic trend in Europe, organized as part of the MEKT. “The root cause for the low birth rate in Europe is not the financial disincentives that burden parents, but the overriding desire for success and self-realization that leads to children being considered ‘factors of disturbance'”, said Küng, who expressed his satisfaction at the fact that the MEKT had dedicated a symposium to this “hot issue”. Msgr. Laszlo Biro, auxiliary bishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét (Czech Republic), mentioned the “culture of death” widespread in Europe today. He drew attention, however, to “signs of hope”, such as “the growing reconciliation between nations that had long been enemies, and the extension of the processes of unification to the countries of Central Europe”.
