The anniversary of 11 March, a year after the massacre at the Atocha station in Madrid, the new appointments in the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, and the death of five civil guards during an anti-terrorist sweep, are the main stories in the Spanish press in recent days. “Our security”, headlines an editorial in El Paìs of 8 March signed by Ana Palacio on the international summit now being held in Madrid on democracy, terrorism and security. “For three days, world experts will exchange ideas with political leaders from over 25 nations and from the most important international organizations the editorial explains – . We need to tackle together the greatest challenge of this century: how to combat terrorism on the basis of democracy, with our security as objective”. Palacio points out that, “ however paradoxical it may seem, the citizens on both sides of the Atlantic perceive that the strategic partnership between Europe and the USA has been broken; in some cases lost for ever. And this opinion is music to the ears of those who champion the construction of a Europe that defines its own identity as a counter-power or counterweight to the American superpower. There are those, on the other hand, who think that now is the time for the USA to rid itself of the eurocentrism that stamped its foreign policy for a good part of the 20th century and recognize once and for all, and without any hang ups, that its own strategy of national security is based on active hegemony (military in particular)”. “Both sides points out Palacio express the opposition between two different points of view about the new threats that need to be combated and the way of combating them”. Palacio, for her part, underlines “ the importance of constructing broad and coherent transatlantic cooperation. For if terrorism has a global dimension, all of us must be involved in combating it. No one can fail to recognise the centrality of the Euro-Atlantic community”. “Prosperity with a Purpose: Churches’ Vision of a Just Society Christians and the Ethics of Affluence” is the title of the document published in recent days by the Christian denominations of England and Ireland, including the Catholic Church. It is presented in the last number of THE CATHOLIC HERALD (04/03) on the front page with the headline “The Christian denominations unite on the Catholic vision of social justice”. In his article SIMON CALDWELL says that “ the leaders of the churches joined together to issue a document that they hope may pose the question of ‘poverty’ in the political agenda in the run up to the general elections”. The document is based on the “ Catholic tradition of social teaching developed by the popes beginning with Leo XIII, who wrote Rerum Novarum in 1891“ . The paper emphasises that “ Clifford Longley, the main author of the document, has said it represents a significant point of reference in ecumenical dialogue, because for the first time in Great Britain, the Protestants, Orthodox and Evangelicals have signed a coherent Catholic philosophic scheme on issues of social justice“. “ Baptism seduces adolescents” is the headline chosen by LA CROIX (09/03) for a feature on a pastoral phenomenon that seems to be growing in highly secular France. “ 2500 adults will receive baptism during the Easter Vigil explains the paper in feature written by ISABELLE DE GAULMYN and a growing number of adolescents are making the same choice today“. An article on another aspect of change now underway in the Catholic Church appeared in the same paper on the previous day (08/03): the title was “ The advance of women in the Church of France“. From the survey conducted by the paper in most French dioceses it emerged that “ women are becoming increasingly present in the decision-making organs of the Church. On the other hand says the paper according to a general survey conducted by the Centre of studies and research on philanthropy, French women are ‘regular’ donors but less willing than men to engage in charitable activities“. The visit of Ukrainian President Yushenko to the German Bundestag is the occasion for the German press to analyse the possibility of the entry into the EU of one of the countries involved in the scandal of the “easy visas” issued by the red-green government, with the effect of flooding Germany with thousands of illegal workers, criminals and prostitutes from Eastern Europe. “ Viktor Yushenko was openly reappraised and placed in the limelight by Parliament“, writes Richard Meng in the Frankfurter Rundschau (10/3). He “ exploited the occasion by making a fervent appeal to united Europe as a whole. But whether he was already able to win over the hearts of the West is another question” […] “For many Germans, the opening to Eastern Europe is still characterised by an attitude of defence and of fear of excessive claims. Curiosity and genuine openness are lacking even in relation to the Poles and Czechs, while scepticism is being reinforced in relation to the Ukrainians“. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1370 N.ro relativo : 19 Data pubblicazione : 11/03/05
