Unity in diversity

From 1st to 4th October 2009, Paris will host the next plenary assembly of the Council of the European Bishops Conferences (Ccee). The news has been announced at the press conference in Esztergom/Budapest, where the 2008 assembly ended, by card. Peter Erdõ, president of Ccee and primate of Hungary. “These moments of study and discussion that also use research in different spheres – stated the cardinal, with reference to the yearly meetings of the presidents of the European Bishops Conferences – have become increasingly substantial, give visibility to the communion of the Catholic Church in Europe and express a shared pastoral attention to the growth of Europe, with its problems, its uncertainties, its expectations. But increasing attention it also being paid to the future of the other continents, just think of the presence over these days of the delegates of the Bishops Conferences of Africa and Latin America, with which we keep regular contacts”. These assemblies, recalled the president of Ccee, are built around “the pastoral work of the Catholic Churches, are an exchange of gifts and a shared time of prayer”. Attention is “mostly focussed on situations of distress in Europe and in the world. These days, we are thinking of the Christians who are persecuted in India; we asked to protect and respect them”. On 6th October Ccee published the final press release of the plenary where the main subjects discussed by the presidents are described. For an unabridged version of the final release, visit www.ccee.ch. (On the plenary see also SIR Europa n.65-66-67).Church and media. “The attention of the Church for the media and that of the media for the Church are growing in Europe – the document states – Many initiatives have been deployed by the Bishops Conferences and by their media, TVs, radios, newspapers, press agencies and websites. However, more often than not, the Church is slandered or defamed” by the media. The Bishops speaking of a relation that “can be difficult sometimes” decided “to strengthen the network of Bishops Conferences in the sharing of resources and in the training of lay people who are mature in their faith. More needs to be done – states the release – for the new media, especially the Internet and digital TV”. “The Church is actually in charge “of finding ever-new ways for evangelisation”; therefore, state the bishops, “even if we cannot convey all the wealth of the content of our faith, we have to find the right ways to effectively use” the media. To do this, they decided to set up “an expert committee to discuss the best ways to connect the Bishops Conferences between them and how to share their resources”. Bioethics and dialogue. During the Esztergom assembly, the Bishops tackled other relevant issues, such as stem cell research, euthanasia and dialogue with Islam. In the release, the Presidents confirm their ‘no’ “to research on embryo stem cells and to euthanasia. The Catholic Church rejects this type of research since it requires that human embryos be killed. Scientific research on adult stem cells opens up, instead, new opportunities that however need further reflection and an ethical framework”. As to euthanasia, the Bishops point out that, “in Europe, the requests for a culture of life are having trouble standing up to the powerful culture of death. Man must not die by a man’s hand but in a man’s hands. That’s why the Church supports and endorses all that makes it possible to alleviate the sufferings of the terminally ill and lead them to a natural death”. As to dialogue with Islam, the release confirms “a need for dialogue and discussion about the social cohabitation of Christian and Muslim communities in daily life. Unity of the churches. The themes reported by the final statement were already pointed out by the card. Peter Erdõ during the press conference for the closing of the Ccee assembly. “If we have to denounce some misinformation, sometimes fairly serious, about the Church, we must add that the Church does not suffer from self-pity and responds responsibly, proposing on one side a specific training of the media operators and on the other side the consolidation of the Catholic media, to be added to the presence of Catholic professionals within the lay media”. The archbishop of Budapest highlighted “the unity of the European Churches on ethical, cultural and social issues, considering the different situations in which those Churches are”. “Unity in diversity – he commented – is an asset that comes from an experience of faith which remains full and lively in the encounter with the other cultures”.