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Over 120 representatives of the Church, politics and associations participated in a discussion forum on the family in Berlin on 7 February. Under the title “The future begins here – prospects for marriage and the family”, the forum was organized by the chairman of the Commission of the German Bishops’ Conference for marriage and the […]

An unusual event has been organized by the archdiocese of Vienna for St. Valentine’s Day: over 50,000 “love letters to God” will be delivered by over 150 messengers of St. Valentine in the Austrian capital, including underground stations and hospitals, beginning at six in the morning. “On the day of love”, declared the director of […]

“Each religion has a right to respect” but is also called to “respect others” in turn, according to the “golden rule” of interfaith dialogue that affirms: “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t wish done to yourself”, writes Monsignor Pierre Bücher, chairman of the work group “Islam” of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference in a statement. […]

The bishops of the Languedoc-Roussillon region have expressed their solidarity with winegrowers in the area in view of the demonstrations planned for the coming days in the main cities of the Region. “The anxiety and suffering they express cannot leave us indifferent”, write the bishops of Montpellier, Mende, Perpignan, Carcassonne and Nimes, in a message […]

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There are “political reasons” behind the fresh accusations levelled against a Hungarian cardinal of having been a “spy priest” during the Communist regime. That’s the view of Bishop András Veres, General Secretary of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference, who has commented to the Hungarian Catholic press agency Magyar Kurír on the publication in recent days of […]

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I speak as the bishop of a country that has been a member of the EU for only a year and a half. Sincerity obliges us to speak not only of agreeable things but also of true things, which are not always equally agreeable. Perhaps the majority of the inhabitants of Hungary awaited with enthusiasm […]

Discussion continues in Germany too about the reactions of the Islamic world against the satiric cartoons depicting Mahomet. Jacques Schuster comments in Die Welt (8/2): “ In one respect the Islamic world resembles the former Soviet bloc: it fears free and spontaneous demonstrations. Those who took to the streets to protest in Teheran, Sana or […]

Spelling the end of the positive trend observed for several months, unemployment in the eurozone countries for December 2005 has registered a slight increase, rising from the 8.3% of the previous month to 8.5%. The overall unemployment rate in the 25-member EU remains stable at 8.5%. Only four countries were able to contain unemployment under […]

The European Commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn has presented a Communication relating to measures to promote closer convergence between the Western Balkans (Macedonia, Serbia Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Albania) and the dynamics of Europe with a view to their possible future membership of the Eu. The Communication, which forms part of the wider EU strategy of […]

The European Commission has decided a further funding of 38 million euros for the “conservation and sustainable management of the forests of Central Africa”. The area in question consists of over 180,000 sq km of humid tropical forests and savannah – the second largest tropical forest system after that of the Amazon – extending through […]