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European Churches" "

“A poor show in the international field”: so saying, the spokesman of the Czech Episcopal Conference, Daniel Herman, stigmatised the decision of the Czech Parliament on 21 May not to ratify the accord between the Czech Republic and the Holy See signed in July 2002 and awaiting ratification. “It’s a decision that reveals the rift […]

Spain “is one of the first nine countries in the world in which the greatest religious freedom exists”: there are “no privileges or excesses in relations between State and Catholic Church”, indeed, “religious freedom in Spain is a right upheld in article 16 of the Constitution”. The relation between Church and State in contemporary Spain […]

“Voting with freedom and principle is an expression of Christian commitment”, declared Archbishop Agustín García-Gasco of Valencia, commenting on the administrative elections held throughout Spain on 25 May. The results of the local elections showed an increase in the Socialist vote, even if the national government remains that of the People’s Party. Since no “single […]

The Spanish Episcopal Conference has expressed its “condolences, solidarity and appreciation for the humanitarian mission” to the families of the Spanish soldiers killed in an air accident in Turkey last Monday, after four months peace mission in Afghanistan. The Spanish bishops also “invite the Christian communities to pray for and show brotherly solidarity with the […]

Spain" "

The construction of peace “does not only involve a defensive or preventive task in countering violence and terror. It demands, especially from communicators, an active commitment to construct, through the means of communication, an integral culture of peace and the defence of human life, every human life”. The point is forcibly made by the Spanish […]

Austria" "

May you “offer a clear and appealing witness of the strength and beauty of the Catholic faith”: that is the exhortation that John Paul II made in his message to the 2,000 participants in the first International Congress on the new evangelization and the city mission, on the theme “Open the doors to Christ!” of […]

France" "

“Reflection on the family urgently needs to be revived, to bring home to the young that the family is not a confessional reality, but a valid anthropological model and an irreplaceable human resource. The family founded on marriage is a precious asset for the whole of society because it is the most reliable way of […]

Ccee" "

Collegiality between the Episcopal Conferences of Europe with a view to an ever greater common commitment in the process of the reunification of the continent, the intensification of collaboration between the Churches of Europe and Latin America, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, the protection of the environment and the promotion of human rights: these are just […]

ecumenism" "

“May the joint Kirchentag become a great ecumenical sign that union in the faith is stronger that what it is that divides“; and “Christians have a common mission to the world”: so declared John Paul II in the message he sent to the Oecumenische Kirchentag that opened in Berlin on 28 May (cf. SIR nos.33, […]

The meeting of the general secretaries of the European Episcopal Conferences, promoted by the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE), ended in Berlin on 28 May. Among the main question discussed: how to organize a secretariat, how to regulate relations with the State, how a Conference may experience a spirituality of communion, and […]