Redazione

“Seeds of hope” is the slogan of the Day of vocations to the priesthood to be celebrated by the Spanish Church on Sunday, 17 March. The objective of the Day is to raise the awareness of Christian communities about the need for vocations to the priesthood, by familiarizing them with the service that priests make […]

Parishes and “pastoral units” are, in the ecclesial sphere, the two structures from which we need to start out to “rejuvenate” the “vitality of the Christian faith of our people and their sense of belonging to the Church”. So said Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), on opening the work of […]

“Reciprocal personal acquaintance”, the “exchange of information” and “frank dialogue” are the essential conditions “for a collaboration that may permit Catholics and Orthodox to offer together a living witness of their common Christian heritage” in Europe. So said the Pope on receiving in audience the members of the delegation of the Orthodox Church of Greece, […]

“Sustainable development is unrealizable if due account is not taken of the ethical dimension”, but in the existing documents of the European Union the presence of this dimension “seems to us inadequate”. So writes Keith Jenkins, director of the Church and Society Commission of the KEK (Conference of European Churches) in a letter sent to […]

A “new evangelization” for the countries of South-East Europe at a time when the peoples of the Balkans are working to reconcile the memories of the past and to look to the future: this was the commitment assumed by the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of the region, at the end of a meeting held […]

Ireland

Disappointment but at the same time a new determination to defend life at any cost from the moment of conception. That is the reaction of the Irish Catholic bishops to the result of the referendum on abortion held in Ireland last week. The result was a narrow victory for the “no” vote. The bishops together […]

Germany" "

The final vote on the law on immigration, approved on 1 March, is expected to take place in the Bundestag in Berlin on 22 March. We asked Katrin Gerdsmeier , of the Commission of German bishops of Berlin, to explain the Church’s position. What does the new law prescribe on the right of asylum and […]

The number of immigrants arriving in French territory shows no signs of abating. It is a phenomenon which, in combination with growing unemployment, risks generating xenophobic reactions among the population. Due to social insecurity and violence, especially in the suburbs of the big cities, the problem of immigration and racism is at the centre of […]

Switzerland is preparing to adopt a new law on foreigners. It was approved by the Federal Council and is now being debated by the national Parliament. The bill endorses the existence of a right for foreigners, but one that is applicable only to particular immigrants, depending on nationality. Citizens of the European Union are no […]

Agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe to establish, in conformity with art. 7 of Regulation (EC) no. 1035/97 of the Council, of 2/6/1997, a European agency to monitor phenomena of racism and xenophobia, and to promote close cooperation between it and the Council of Europe (1997); European Commission, draft decision that […]