Thoughts, experiences, projects

The most significant events of recent months in the activity of the CCEE were the meeting of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of South-East Europe at Corfu (3-5 March 2006); the meeting of the Executive Committee of the CEEM (European Episcopal Commission for the Media) in Rome (10-12 March 2006); the meeting of the Presidencies of the CCEE (Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe) and COMECE (Commission of the Episcopates of the European Community) in Brussels (22-24 March 2006) and the meeting of the preparatory Committee for the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) held in Sibiu (30 March-2 April 2006). Future dates on the calendar include the annual meeting of the general secretaries of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe at Ljublijana (Slovenia) (24-28 June 2006); the meeting of the national delegates of the European Vocational Service (EVS) at Vaalbeek (Belgium) from 29 June to 2 July 2006 on “When will the Christian community become a community that calls?”; and the annual meeting of the spokespersons and press officers of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe at Dublin (Ireland) (20-23 July 2006). Below we present a brief review of the most significant events and projects in the life of the Churches of Europe. BELGIUM. Faced by the prospect of the possible extension to minors and invalids of the law of 28 May 2002 that depenalises euthanasia, the bishops have reaffirmed their total opposition to euthanasia as a terminal option. In their homilies at Easter, the bishops preached the promotion of a culture of life, not of death. A joint declaration with the monotheist religions (Jews, Christians and Muslims) is currently being prepared on the question. The bishops propose to concentrate their attention on catechesis for the next pastoral years. The transmission of the faith remains one of the major challenges in our time and this requires deeper reflection and debate. For the pastoral year 2006-2007, the bishops will draft a pastoral letter aimed at clarifying the numerous questions linked to catechesis and instigating a process that may help believers to grow in the faith. BELARUS. The 28th Plenary Assembly of the Belorussian Bishops’ Conference was held in Minsk in recent weeks. The main theme for discussion was the national pilgrimage of Belarus to Warsaw on the occasion of the celebration of Holy Mass presided over by Benedict XVI in the Polish capital on 26 May. It is expected that over 2,000 Belorussian pilgrims will take part in the pilgrimage. To mark the 15th anniversary of the reconstruction of the Catholic Church in Belarus (on Holy Thursday), a letter of the President of the Bishops’ Conference of Belarus was read out in all the churches; it summed up the results achieved in the local Church over the last fifteen years. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. During the work of the plenary session of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina held at Mostar in recent weeks, a statement was drafted by the bishops and later published on changes to the Constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina. A basic Accord between the Holy See and Bosnia-Herzegovina was signed by Ivo Miro Jovi?, Head of State of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Monsignor Alessandro D’Errico, representing the Holy See, on 19 April. BULGARIA. In recent weeks, representatives of the various Churches celebrated the World Day of Women’s Prayer in Sofia. This year the celebration took place in the evangelical church. A meeting on consecrated life was held at Ruse at the end of March. The delegate of the Bishops’ Conference for consecrated life and bishop of the diocese of Nicopoli, Petko Hristov, reflected together with men and women religious on the theme of the inculturation of their particular charisms and on the challenges of the consecrated life. CZECH REPUBLIC. In recent months the Parliament of the Czech Republic approved a law on scientific research on human stem cells. In this regard, the Czech Bishops’ Conference published a communiqué pointing out the danger of the manipulation of human life and recalling the need for caution in this field. Over the last three months the representatives of the Czech Bishops’ Conference met with the Minister for Cultural Properties to discuss approval of the amendment of the law concerning the Church, which the bishops regard as discriminatory towards the churches. During the meeting discussion also focused on the funding of the Church and the Concordat between the Holy See and the Czech Republic, still not yet ratified by the national Parliament. ENGLAND AND WALES . A common project was launched in March: “Alliance of the Churches – Care Not Killing,” in which physicians, lawyers and politicians pledge to a common opposition to the proposed reform of the law on voluntary euthanasia in England and Wales. The Bishops’ Conference is one of the founding members of the alliance whose website is: www.carenotkilling.org.uk. During the recent plenary assembly of the Bishops’ Conference, held in Leeds, the bishops put out a statement urging the British government to sign the Convention of the Council of Europe on the trafficking of human beings. They also discussed the translation of liturgical texts and the preparation of a joint meeting with Anglican bishops to be held in November. IRELAND. The Commission for Education of the Irish Bishops’ Conference has been given the task of developing an appropriate model for a greater involvement of the Church in the curriculum of primary schools. The bishops are also reviewing the implementation of the principles and procedures contained in the document “Our Children: our Church”. The Bishops’ Conference will continue to be represented in the National Forum on Europe set up by the Irish government in 2001 with the objective of encouraging debate on issues regarding Ireland’s membership of the European Union and questions relating to the debate on the future of Europe. LITHUANIA. Following the implementation of the accord between the Holy See and the Lithuanian Republic, the Art Museum of Lithuania has returned to the Catholic Church most of the treasures from the cathedral in Vilnius: almost a thousand artefacts, including chalices, reliquaries and ex-votos, hidden during the years of the Second World War and in more recent years displayed in the state museum. The President of the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevièius, and the bishop of Lutheran Church of Lithuania have written a letter to the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the President of the Parliament of Lithuania, appealing for the prohibition of research and experiments using stem cells derived from human embryos. ROMANIA. In recent days the Romanian episcopate met in the city of Blaj to participate in the solemn ceremony of the elevation of the Greek-Catholic Metropolitan Church of Romania to the rank of Major Archiepiscopal Church. All the bishops of Romania and some guest bishops, as well as Cardinal Moussa I Daoud, Prefect of the Congregation of the Oriental Churches, some representatives of the President of the Republic and of the Prime Minister, local authorities and a large congregation of faithful, all participated in the celebration. SCANDINAVIA. The spring plenary assembly of the Scandinavian Bishops’ Conference was held at Magleås, in Denmark, in recent weeks. The main issues on the agenda included a report on the problems of “street children” and “children who live on the street”. The pastoral ministry of the Scandinavian dioceses wishes to address itself more actively to the urgent needs of these children, so the report has been sent to the competent offices of the dioceses. Other questions discussed by the bishops: the formation of deacons and priests, and the catechesis of youth and adults. The bishops also approved the project for a “Youth Day 2007” in the Nordic countries. SCOTLAND. During Holy Week this year the Scottish Bishops’ Conference issued a statement urging the government of Great Britain not to replace the Trident system of nuclear weapons, and to use the money thus saved instead to combat the problems linked to poverty. Together with the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, the Scottish Bishops have chosen the right to life of the disabled as the central theme of the “Day for Life 2006”. To this end a new shared website has been created: www.dayforlife.org. SERBIA . The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church in a Serbian translation was presented at a press conference in recent weeks, in the presence of Cardinal Renato Martino. A study day at the Faculty of Theology of the Serb Orthodox Church was later dedicated to reflection on the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church and of the Serb Orthodox Church. Apart from Cardinal Martino, the participants included several Orthodox and Catholic bishops, various professors and students. In April, after prolonged discussion, the Government of Serbia promulgated the law on the legal status of the traditional Churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical and Protestant) and of the religious communities (Islamic and Jewish communities). TURKEY. The new Apostolic Nuncio in Turkey, Monsignor Antonio Lucibello, participated for the first time in the assembly of the Turkish Bishops’ Conference, held in Istanbul in recent weeks. The assembly was characterised by its commemoration of Father Andrea Santoro, recently killed by a deranged young man at Trabzon. Ever since this attack, special branch police officers with the task of protecting the faithful have been present during celebrations in the churches of the country. During their assembly the bishops received a summary of the work of the first stage of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly held in Rome on 24-27 January 2006, and made a commitment to promote an ecumenical day at the national level in preparation for this important event.