Italy, Germany, Hungary

Italy: new responsibility for Europe”The difficult time that Europe is experiencing calls the populations and institutions to assume new responsibilities and make more efforts”. But that is not enough: if its “unification process wants to be really fruitful”, then Europe “needs to acknowledge its own Christian roots”. So said Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, concluding a seminar of study for Italian bishops (“Church and religious confessions in the system of the European Union”) in Rome on 16 November. “The current problems” of the old continent, explained the Cardinal, “give a better feeling of how essential it is to find again the spirit that guided the initial stage of the building of European unity, where attention was paid to the deep soul of our populations and their future, without being prisoners to the sole arguments of economy or to relations of power”. Nowadays, the EU “is looking for a way to give new momentum to its own actions, especially to its own role on the international scene, the need of which is deeply felt”. Equally essential, according to Cardinal Bagnasco, is “the pursuit of shared values, in terms of cultural and spiritual unity fuelled by dialogue and respectful of its own spiritual, cultural and civil identity”. Awareness of Christian roots, added Cardinal Bagnasco, “is by no means about denying the need of a just and healthy laicism – which should not be confused with ideological laicism – in the European institutions, but rather establishing, first and foremost, a historical fact that no one can seriously challenge, because – as history proves – Christianity deeply and decisively belongs to the very foundations of the European identity”.Germany: supporting assistance for parentsTo support parents in their task of education: this is a goal that needs to be achieved according to Mgr. Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, chairman of the Commission for Marriage and the Family of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK). The bishop expressed his views on 15 November, commenting on the eventuality of the German government introducing benefits for parents who decide temporarily to give up their job to dedicate themselves fulltime to their children in the first years of their life, without availing themselves of kindergartens. “On behalf of the Church, I welcome parent-friendly initiatives”, said the bishop, stressing that “institutional assistance is certainly valuable, but that we also need to raise awareness of the fact that for a parent-child relationship to be healthy, the presence of parents in the first years of life cannot be replaced by other institutions”. This is why “the goal of politics, of all efforts for the good of the child, must be that of supporting parents in their task of education”.Hungary: Year of the Family concluded”The family is the reality of our life that is most exposed to dangers. At the same time, however, it is a source of indispensable values. In the family we learn the highest values of human charity, love of neighbour, solidarity, education, and often faith and humanity”, said Cardinal Péter Erdo, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and President of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference (CEU), during his homily for the Mass that concluded the 18th Congress and Festival of the Family. The event, organized by the Association of Catholic Families of Hungary, took place at Mariabesnyo and Godollo last week, marking the conclusion of the Year of the Family. At the Congress delegates reaffirmed that education in family life would be introduced as part of the “national curriculum”. The responsibility of the mass media in heightening society’s awareness of family values was also underlined. The some 400 participants in the Festival were able to enjoy a programme of literature and music and a round table. “As regards the events of the Year of the Family promoted by the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference, we preferred to give scope to local communities rather than organize everything at a centralized level. There are many initiatives that will be further pursued”, concluded Bishop Laszlo Biro, CEU delegate for families, summing up the results of the Year of the Family.