Thoughts, experiences, projects ” “

Collegiality between the Episcopal Conferences of Europe, the ecumenical process and the role of the Churches in society and in the culture of the continent have been the main commitments of European bishops also in recent months. The plenary assembly of the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe (Ccee), held at Leeds from 30 September to 3 October, was attended by the presidents of the 34 episcopates of the continent as well as several delegate bishops. The issues discussed included the significance of Christianity in contemporary Europe, the Churches and the EU Constitutional Treaty, and the programme of a third European ecumenical assembly, for which the theme has been proposed: “In your light we see the light: our common responsibility in Europe”. At the end of October the presidents and general secretaries of the Ccee and of the Conference of European Churches (Cec) held a joint meeting at St. Gallen (Switzerland), to plan, among other things, the meeting of the joint committee due to be held in Chartres (France) from 3 to 6 February 2005. Forthcomings Ccee events include a meeting planned in Rome on 17-18 December, aimed at establishing a “Commission for evangelization and dialogue”, the meeting in Jerusalem of the Europe-USA group of bishops on the Holy Land (10-13 January 2005), and the meeting of the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of South-East Europe (Sarajevo, 25-27 February 2005). We present a review of the most recent initiatives of the European Churches and their projects for the next few months. BELARUS. On 21 October, on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Cardinal Kazimir Swiatek, the President of the Republic, Aleksander Lukaszenka, met for the first time all the Catholic bishops of Belarus in the metropolitan curia of Minsk. Cardinal Swiatek had a personal meeting with the President, to whom the bishops had explained the problems of their respective dioceses. The second edition of the prayer book for Catholics, containing texts conforming to the documents of the Holy See and faithful to the tradition of the local Church, was published in recent weeks. On 9 October the Major Seminary of Grodno solemnly opened its new academic year. In the fifteen years since its establishment the seminary has trained 120 seminarians for the priesthood. At the present time 70 seminarians are studying there. BELGIUM. A new law on non-profit associations came into force in recent weeks. Interdiocesan ecclesiastical courts of the first and second instance have been created in the French-speaking region. The issues discussed by the bishops in plenary assembly and in other meetings in recent months have included the ministry of vocations, the role and content of Christian inspiration in the youth movements, and coordination between the dioceses and the religious congregations on church property. As part of the special liturgical year “Called to celebrate”, a practical guide for eucharistic celebrations was published, aimed especially at priests and liturgical équipes. CROATIA. The “Ratio fundamentalis nationalis” for the training of candidates to the priesthood and the establishment of the Catholic university in the country were the main issues discussed by the Croatian bishops in their plenary assembly held in Zagreb in October. Other questions on the agenda: the relation between the Church and the mass media, the formation and role of altar boys, sex education in schools, and relations with the State on respect for the accords with the Holy See. On 26 October, in the presence of 10,000 faithful, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi presided over a liturgical concelebration at Srijrmska Mitrovica (diocese of Djakovo-Srijem) together with 200 priests and 30 bishops, including Cardinals Bozaniæ and Pulijiæ. The occasion was the 1700th anniversary of the martyrs of Sirmium (now Srijrmska Mitrovica), commemorated during his lifetime by St. Ambrose. GREECE. The Christian vocation was the theme at the centre of the plenary assembly of the Greek Episcopal Conference held in Athens in October. A mixed commission of bishops, priests and religious had drafted a basic text on the question; a synodal Commission will be set up for its examination in the near future. On the occasion of the Eucharistic Year (October 2004-October 2005) the Greek bishops will shortly publish a letter on the Eucharist, suggesting to the faithful some specific ways of celebrating this special year in the life of the Greek Church. HOLLAND. The bishops of the Netherlands have held various sessions over the last few months to discuss the ministry of the sacraments, the future of Catholic theological education, the question of alochthonous parishes – separated or integrated in territorial parishes -, the implementation of the Instruction Redemptoris sacramentum and the financial budget of the Episcopal Conference. HUNGARY. The fifth meeting between the permanent Councils of the Slovak and Hungarian Episcopal Conferences was held in October; discussion focused on pastoral issues and on the experiences of the two countries after their joining of the European Union. During their autumn plenary assembly the Hungarian bishops approved the national programme of the Eucharistic Year, whose closure, planned for 3 September 2005, will coincide with a national eucharistic congress. Conscious, moreover, of the importance of relations with the mass media for the task of evangelization, the bishops decided to launch a daily bulletin on the Internet in the near future. ROMANIA. Mixed marriages, especially with the Orthodox; the problems of emigrants in the light of the document Erga migrantes caritas Christi; the presentation of the Apostolic Letter Mane nobiscum Domine; and the participation in the session of the Synod of Bishops: these were the main issues discussed by the bishops of Romania meeting in plenary assembly in Bucharest in October. To mark the occasion, a solemn pontifical mass for John Paul II on the 26th anniversary of his election was celebrated in the cathedral. SCANDINAVIA. The Scandinavian Episcopal Conference, meeting at Djursholm (near Stockholm) in September, examined some recent Vatican documents, including the Letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church on the collaboration between men and women in the Church and in the world, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Instruction Redemptoris sacramentum of the Congregation for Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The bishops also discussed the questions of the presence of Catholics of other rites, the law for the family, and the updating of the provisions on social solidarity. The Lineamenta for the Synod of Bishops scheduled for the autumn of 2005 were also analysed. SCOTLAND. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has stepped up its investment in recent months in the sector of Catholic education with the setting up of the Scottish Catholic Education Society (SCES). The bishops also published clear guidelines for so-called “shared campus” funding (for the sharing of campuses with non-confessional schools) and, where necessary, for new Catholic schools within the national school system. Contacts with the Scottish Parliament and the Government, especially through the bishops’ parliamentary delegate John Deighan, are continuing, in ongoing dialogue on laws affecting the family and social solidarity. SLOVAKIA. The Slovak Episcopal Conference and the Evangelic Church of the Augsburg Confession promoted an Ecumenical Day for spiritual renewal on 22 October, to mark the fifth anniversary of the signing of the joint Declaration on the doctrine of justification. Ccee general secretary, Msgr. Aldo Giordano, and Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the World Lutheran Federation attended the meeting. The executive of the “Mitteleuropäischer Katholikentag” met in Bratislava in late October to discuss future projects. SLOVENIA. During their extraordinary assembly (Maribor, 29 September 2004), the Slovene bishops examined the proposal of the Ministry of Justice for the regulation of the juridical status of the communities of Romany gipsies present in the country, and also discussed the training of permanent deacons and whether it is appropriate for them to graduate in theology. As for claims made by the victims of violence during and after the Second World War, a key issue in the complex relations between Church and State, the bishops declared that it is not their responsibility to assume this task, which ought to be assumed instead by specific civil organizations. The bishops, however, reaffirmed their own willingness to officiate eucharistic celebrations on the sites of massacres in commemoration of the victims as a way of contributing to the reconciliation of the Slovene people. SPAIN. After the campaign on euthanasia in November, the Spanish bishops announced they will promote a further three campaigns to inform the faithful on the doctrine of the Church on the family and on life. The occasion was provided by the legislative measures in part anticipated and in part applied by the new Socialist government, which, according to the bishops, are contrary to the teachings of the Church and the natural law. Demonstrations and collections of signatures are being planned to protest against them in Catholic circles. UKRAINE (BYZANTINE RITE). As part of the process of reconciliation between the Ukrainian and Polish people inaugurated in the first months of this year, the president of the Polish Episcopal Conference Monsignor Jozef Michalik was guest at the Synod of Kiev on the invitation of Cardinal Lubomyr Husar in October, and on 1st November Cardinals Husar and Jaworski celebrated, in the presence of the faithful and the civil authorities, a requiem mass in the cemetery of Lyczakiv at Lviv before the tombs of the Polish and Ukrainian soldiers who fought against each other 86 years ago. Delegates at the Synod of Kiev mainly discussed the reform of ecclesiastical structures, the training of future priests and the Year of the Eucharist. The next Synod of Bishops of the whole Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is planned for August 2005.