Redazione

ecumenism" "

Relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Benedictine abbey of Chevetogne, near Namur, in Belgium, were at the centre of a meeting held in St. Petersburg last week on the theme: “Russian-Belgian relations: history and actuality”. Reviewing the commitment made by the abbey of Chevetogne, ever since its foundation in 1925, to bringing Catholics […]

300 “young” religious representing confreres and consoeurs with less than ten years of final profession met in Angers, in northwestern France, in recent days to reflect on their vows. “Pragmatic and realistic”: that’s how Father Luc Crépy, president of the Conference of superiors major of France, described the participants in the meeting who have “accepted […]

An occasion to “collectively involve ourselves, as community of Catholic believers, in a national public event” that “enjoys great success each year”: that’s how Bishop Hippolyte Simon of Clermont calls “European Heritage Day” which is promoted as usual by the Ministry of Culture and Communication and will be celebrated on 20/21 September. Its theme this […]

France" "

“The dignity of the person, the respect for human life, the struggle against pain and suffering, and efficiency in management” are the values most stressed during the celebrations marking the fourth centenary of the presence of the hospital order of the “Brothers of St. John of God” in France. The celebrations began in 2002 and […]

" "Belarus" "

To mark the Jubilee of the 380 anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Jehosaphat (+1623), who was archbishop of Polatsk, and the 25th anniversary of the pontificate of John Paul II, the Greek-Catholic community of Belarus dedicated Sunday 13 July to a particular day to prayer and celebration. The faithful flocked to Polatsk from all […]

Presidential veto on the new Slovak law on abortion: Slovak President Rudolf Schuster used his power of veto on 23 July to block a law approved by Parliament on 3 July thanks to the votes of the opposition to which were added those of the ruling party, Alliance of the new citizen (ANO); the law […]

Slovakia" "

John Paul II’s apostolic journey to Slovakia will take place from 11 to 14 September. It will be the Pope’s 102nd journey outside Italy. The trip was announced on 14 June by the deputy director of the Holy See’s Press Room, Father Ciro Benedettini, who also gave details of the Pope’s itinerary: Trnava, Banská Bystrica, […]

The EU is making a concerted effort to help the peace process in the Middle East. Meeting in Brussels on 21/22 July, the foreign ministers of the 25 met their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts to discuss the procedures for the implementation of the road map – called the ‘only way’ to re-establish peace – and […]

The EU Council of Agriculture met in Brussels on 22 July. With the contrary vote of Denmark, Luxembourg and the UK – accompanied by some reservations voiced by Austria – the 15 formally approved the new regulation on the labelling and treaceability of GMOs in foodstuffs destined for human consumption and animal fodder (cf. SirEurope […]

" "social questions" "

What does it mean to be a woman? A rich mosaic of data is compiled by a statistical study of the condition of women in the world updated to 2000. It’s a document called “Women in the World. Statistical Trends”. This UN Report, the third after the previous editions in 1991 and 1995, provides key […]