Croatia: Missionary Childhood congress

The 6th Congress of the Pontifical Missionary Childhood (POIM) for the countries of the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe was held in Dubrovnik from 12 to 15 November, as reported by the Fides international press agency. The congress was opened with a mass officiated by Monsignor Slobodan Stambuk, head of the episcopal Commission for missions in […]

di Redazione

Luxembourg: hands off Sunday

It has been called a grave attack on family, social and associational life in Luxembourg: in a communiqué issued in Luxembourg in recent days the diocesan Council of Catholics has attacked the Sunday opening of shops made possible by a ministerial exemption dating to 14 September. The ministerial ruling annuls what is prescribed by the […]

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Switzerland: the Churches for the 2008 European Football Cup

Making the 2008 European Football Cup not only a sporting event, but also a feast of living together. This is the proposal submitted by the Catholic Church and the Federation of Protestant Churches in Switzerland (Feps) – the country which, along with Austria, will play host to the 13th European Football Championship (7-29 June, 2008) […]

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Austria: the liturgy of the East and of the West

The liturgy of the East and of the West has been at the centre of an international symposium held in Wien November 17-20. The event, organized by the Institute for science and liturgy of the University of Wien with the ‘Fondazione Pro Oriente’, was attended by different liturgy experts from different confessions, coming from Austria […]

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Ireland: praise of the Simpson

Irish bishop Donald Murray, from the diocese of Limerick, in centre-west Ireland, praised the television cartoon series “The Simpsons”. The bishop said it’s one of the few television programs where the protagonists go to church. Religion, the bishop explained, during a conference on religion and secular life in present-day Ireland, never appears on television, neither […]

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England: on the side of the children

The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales reaffirmed its commitment to protect vulnerable children and adults as an integral part of the ministry and the life of the Church and established a group which will implement the guidelines of the Cumberlege Commission. The Commission, guided by former Health Minister baroness Cumberlege, in the past […]

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Portugal: the campaign for “the innocent of war”

The S. João de Deus Foundation, in cooperation with the Hospital of the city of Montemor-o-Novo (Alentejo), promoted the project “Innocents of war”, with the purpose of contributing to the re-habilitation of amputated adolescents and children victims of anti-man mines and of Polio. The Hospital management believes that the initiative is in line with an […]

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Belgium: praying for the Country’s Unity

“The Church should refrain from interfering in politics: societies’ organization and its institutions are politicians’ responsibility”. These words were pronounced by the archbishop of Brussels Cardinal Godfried Danneels while leading the Te Deum rite in the Saint Michel and Gudul Cathedral for the King Festivity on November 15. “Undoubtedly”, the Cardinal pointed out, “the Church […]

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Germany: a foundation for “reconciliation”

The president of the Bishops Conference, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, and the President of the Ministers of the Turingia Land presented in Berlin on November 19 the new “Maximilian Kolbe Foundation for Reconciliation based on the power of memory”. The foundation has a budget of approximately 1.1 million euro which will serve to finance “exemplary projects […]

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FRONT PAGE

The three dialogues

“The dialogue of reason; the important if not exclusive dialogue with Muslims in Europe; the open, transparent and regular dialogue of the Church with the European institutions are each in their own way the realisation of the Church’s dialogue with the world, which the Council was so keen to assign to us. Here, we should […]

di Adrianus van Luyn Comece president