POLAND

For the victims of Grenoble

Thursday, July 26th, in front of the tomb of John Paul II, a special Mass for the victims of last Sunday’s serious car accident in Grenoble was celebrated. 26 Polish pilgrims lost their lives in it, while another 24 wounded are now in various hospitals in France and Poland. “It is true that pilgrimage implies […]

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YOUTH

The joy of being there

The meeting of the Agorà of Italian youth with Benedict XVI is taking place in Loreto, from August 29th to September 2nd. Apart from Italian youth, 800 young people from 50 countries of Europe and the Mediterranean are expected at the meeting with the Pope. Their presence will be an invitation to debate and exchange […]

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Turkey: the case of the Patriarchate referred to the EU

The Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dora Bakoyannis, has decided to inform the European Union of the situation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and has presented a report on the question to the Council of General Affairs and External Relations that met in Brussels on 23 July, under the chairmanship of Louis Amado, Portuguese […]

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Slovakia: mission to Azerbaijan

The Salesians of Slovakia, engaged in a mission “sui iuris” in Azerbaijan, have opened a website of information and promotion of the Catholic Church. The project, coordinated together with a youth group, provides information on the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan which resumed its presence in the country in 2000, after 70 years of silence. As […]

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Portugal: helping the youth of East Timor

The St. John of God Foundation and the Portuguese Hospital Mission in East Timor are running a youth development project in the region. During July and August, the Foundation is promoting a campaign to support the education and professional training of youth in the Manatuto district of East Timor. According to what the Foundation’s authorities […]

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Czech Republic: abbey restored

The Cistercian abbey of Vissy Brod in the Czech Republic, close to the Austrian frontier, has been restored with the financial support of Upper Austria. To fund the work of restoring the ruined medieval abbey, a fund-raising association was founded in 2002. It has so far collected 282,000 euros, to which EU funds have also […]

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Austria: income threshold and family benefits

A lively debate is continuing in Austria on the possible abolition of the income threshold to gain access to child benefits, currently in force. The chairwoman of the association of Catholic families in Styria, Sissi Potzinger, has also declared her support for a complete abolition of the income threshold. She says “families must be free […]

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Germany: an internet site dedicated to the family

The website of the archdiocese of Munich for the family was presented on 25 July. On the address www.erzbistum-muenchen.de/familie it is possible to access information on all the activities in support of the family provided by the various offices of the archdiocese. Services subdivided by age groups are described on the website. For infants aged […]

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Great Britain: floods, priests on the front line

Priests on the front line in England to help the people hit by the floods which are devastating the South of Great Britain, during these days of bad weather, and with record figures: 10 thousand flooded dwellings, and 50 thousand houses without electricity, plus thousands of evacuees. “We are phoning parishioners – says Father Keith […]

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Spain: religion teachers will be employed

For the first time, in Spain, religion teachers in state schools will have permanent contracts. However, at the same time, the presence of religion teaching in schools is reduced. According to Alfredo Sepúlveda, of the collective of religion teachers of the Independent Workers’ Trade Unions, “this government’s move is a double-edged sword”: “If they reduce […]

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