Ccee: the open wounds inflicted by Communism"Communism has left, as an inheritance, deep wounds in the life of persons and society, from which there arises a call for help and the need of God and the Church in order to heal the man," affirmed the Cardinals and Presidents of the 13 Bishops’ Conferences of Central and Eastern Europe who gathered in Zagreb on February 10 to discuss “The Mission of the Church in the Countries of Central-Eastern Europe 20 Years After the Fall of Communism: 1989-2009″. The date marks the anniversary of the beatification of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, the bishop martyr of the Communist regime. The meeting is the third of this type, the previous ones were held in Budapest in 2004 and in Prague 2007. It was organised by the archdiocese of Zagreb and by Croatia’s Bishops’ Conference, on the invitation of Cardinal Josip Bozaniæ, metropolitan archbishop of Zagreb and Vice President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE). In the final statement issued February 12 the Presidents recalled: "still today the truth of those years strives to emerge while there is a strong tendency to silence what actually happened. The psychological burden of the previous epoch is still felt in these societies causing radical polarization along with sentiments of mistrust and hatred throughout different environments". For this reason "there is an urgent need to help young people know the true history and cherish the memory of those who let themselves be martyred for faith.” “Communism has left, as an inheritance, deep wounds in the life of persons and society, from which there arises a call for help and the need of God and the Church in order to heal man". Participants pointed out that the Church and Europe ought to "face the challenges posed by globalization, bioethics, neuroscience, migration flows, peace and the construction of a new world order". To this regard, the bishops decided, "to promote historic congresses focused on the life of the Church under Communist rule". Comece: "protection of work-free Sunday""In recent years, the protection of Sunday has been eroded in many Member States, with the purpose of increasing production and consumption", while "workers have experienced the fragmentation of their private lives". Furthermore, small and medium-sized enterprises, which cannot afford uninterrupted opening hours, have lost ground in the market place. COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union), the Protestant Church in Germany and the Church of England voiced their protest against working Sunday, which is being extended across the Old Continent. They welcomed the initiative of five MEPs from different political groups in the EU Chamber to ask the adoption of a Written Declaration "on the protection of a work-free Sunday as an essential pillar of the European Social Model and as part of the European cultural heritage". Such Declaration, is written in a Note issued by COMECE on February 11, "would constitute an important commitment to a "Social Europe". In order to be adopted by the 27-Assembly, the document submitted on February 2 ought to be endorsed by a majority (394) of MEPs by May 7 2009. The Written Declaration "calls on the Member States and on the EU institutions to protect Sunday, as a weekly rest day, in forthcoming national and EU working-time legislation in order to enhance the protection of workers’ health and the reconciliation of work and family life". Church representatives declared that Sunday "is one of the few remaining times which can be shared by children and their parents". According to European legislation they stated – Sunday is the weekly rest day for children and adolescents. That is why respect for Sunday rest has the potential to be a pillar of the European social model". COMECE had addressed this issue on several occasions in 2008 while during the fall it supported the Euro-Chamber proposal to introduce Sunday rest in the Revision Working Time Directive, scuppered in past December’s sitting. On November 12-14 COMECE’s Assembly debated the issue and agreed on Sunday protection along with workers’ periods of rest and the importance of family life. On December 17, after the Euro-Chamber failed to adopt two amendments to this regard in the Working Time Directive, COMECE’s secretary, Msgr. Piotr Mazurkiewicz, stigmatized the "incoherence" and "lack of attention" towards citizens’ needs.
