For the first time in Russia

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN RUSSIA. For the first time in history the Presidents of the European Bishops’ Conferences that form part of the CCEE (Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences) are meeting for their plenary assembly in St. Petersburg, in Russia (until 8 October), at the invitation of Mons. Joseph Werth, President of the Bishops’ Conference of the Russian Federation. During their meeting the Presidents of the 34 Bishops’ Conferences of Europe will proceed to the election of their new Executive for the five-year period 2006-2011, and of the bishops to chair the Commissions for the media, for the mission to migrants, for catechesis, schools and universities, and for vocations. The theme of the plenary is reflection on the service of the CCEE, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2006. The bishops will try to identify the essential guidelines for their future activities in the field of evangelization. The plenary officially opened on 5 October with a first session on the religious situation in Russia, which was described by the Archbishop of Moscow Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz. The second part of the plenary will focus on the vocational ministry in Europe and the role of the priest. Also on the agenda are such themes as marriage and the family, the Church in Europe and the international situation, the relation between the Churches and the European Union and the process of European unification. Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar of Belgrade will introduce preparations for the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) due to be held at Sibiu in Romania (4-9 September 2007). After the Plenary, the Institute for European Civilization, in collaboration with the Commission for International Cooperation and Diplomacy (Russia), will hold a conference in Moscow with the title “Europe at the crossroads: clash of civilizations or new dialogue?”. Participants will include the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture Cardinal Paul Poupard and the Secretary of the CCEE Mons. Aldo Giordano.A SYMBOLIC PLACE. On October 5th, the first day of the Plenary Assembly of Ccee (Council of European Bishops Conferences) in Saint Petersburg, began with a tour of the city: the guests also visited the Hermitage, one of the most important museums in Russia. The first session of the Plenary Assembly of Ccee has been attended by over 50 people. Due to a disease, the head of the Catholic Ukraine Church, card. Lubomyr Huzar, could not attend the meeting. The president of Ccee, mgr. Amédéè Grab, the apostolic nuncio of the Russian Federation, mgr. Antonio Mennini, the president of the Bishops Conference of the Russian Federation, mgr. Joseph Werth, the archbishop of Moscow, mgr. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, welcomed the guests.Patriarch Alexius II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, sent a message to the assembly. “It is symbolic that the Assembly should be held in Saint Petersburg, the city that has experienced the influence of many foreign cultures and traditions, but has always been a key centre of the Russian Orthodox faith”, wrote the patriarch. The Holy See was represented by the secretary of State, card. Tarcisio Bertone, bearing Benedict XVI’s message which paid special attention to the problems of the family. The prefect of the Congregation of the Bishops, card. Gianbattista Re, invited the floor to discuss the problems of the education of the priests and religious life. The session went on with a number of reports, through which the participants exchanged information about the activities carried out this year by the national Bishops Conferences. The Albanian, Austrian, English, Belarusian, Czech, French and German delegations gave their reports. A Mass marked the end of the first day of the plenary assembly.MEETING BETWEEN MURPHY-O’CONNOR AND ALEXEI II. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales met the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II, just before the opening of the meeting in St. Petersburg of the Presidents of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE). In his visit to the Patriarchate of Moscow, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor expressed the hope for “the creation of better relations between the English Catholic Church and your Church”. He also expressed his support for the idea canvassed by the Patriarch for necessary collaboration between Orthodox and Catholics with a view to the consolidation of Christian values, especially “in secularised Europe”. Patriarch Alexei II emphasized in turn the importance of working together in Europe, especially in the current situation in which religion is being sidelined from social life. He also noted that in these circumstances the Russian Church has received “fairly positively” the Pope’s declarations on the development of dialogue with the Orthodox Church, which Benedict XVI hoped for at the beginning of his pontificate. The Patriarch expressed his best wishes for the work of the CCEE Plenary in St. Petersburg.