PORTUGAL

“A certain malaise”

At the end of the recent meeting of the permanent Council of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) in Fatima, the secretary, Monsignor CARLOS AZEVEDO , lamented the “lack of dialogue” in the relations of the Portuguese government with the Catholic Church. He admitted a certain malaise in the accumulation of situations that remain unresolved. In […]

di Redazione

Centenary of the fire-brigade monks

They are not only dedicated to monastic prayer and work, in fidelity to the Benedictine Rule, Ora et Labora , but, when needed, they transform themselves in voluntary firemen. They are the members of the voluntary fire-brigade unit of the monastic community of St. Ottilia (Benedictine missionaries) who celebrated the centenary of the unit’s foundation […]

di Redazione

160,000 children threatened by poverty

Some 160,000 children are living in poor families or families threatened by poverty in the diocese of Münster alone. For many of these families the approaching school year means having to find the money for educational material (textbooks and the like). But to cover these expenses, points out Ulrich Thien of Caritas in Münster, the […]

di Redazione

GERMANY

Protection of the embryo must not be weakened

The national Council of Bioethics in Germany issued a statement on 16 July regarding a possible amendment of the Law on stem cells, which would open the possibility of abrogating the ban on the importation of embryonic stem cells produced before 1st January 2002 (the so-called “Stichtagsregelung” or deadline regulation). The German Bishops’ Conference has […]

di Redazione

Belarus: a new church in Minsk

Building work on the construction of the new Catholic church, the first to be built in the country since 1917, began in the capital Minsk in recent days. The new church will form part of the parish of St. John the Baptist in the Serebrianka district of town. The foundations of the new church should […]

di Redazione

Ireland: towards WYD in Sydney 2008

A Mass for young Irish emigrants and the children of Irish emigrants in Australia was recently celebrated in Sydney by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Right Rev. Diarmuid Martin, who wished in this way to raise the awareness of his compatriots in World Youth Day which will be held in the Australian city from 15 […]

di Redazione

Switzerland: communication prize

The 2007 Communication Prize – promoted by the Media Commission of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference – will be presented to the editorial team of the magazine Ferment at Ebikon (Lucerne) on 26 August. Published by the Pallottine Fathers at Gossau (St. Gallen) since 1959 – says a press release of the Swiss episcopate announcing the […]

di Redazione

Slovakia: scouts from Europe trekking on the Carpathians

On August 1st, the day of the 100th anniversary of the first scouting camp organised by Lord Baden Powell on the Isle of Brownsea, in England, and the day on which at dawn all the scouts of the world will renew their promise, the Italian associations of Catholic guides and scouts of Europe will be […]

di Redazione

FRONT PAGE

Inhabiting time

“Inhabiting our time in a Christian way” was the theme of the 24th meeting of the European Colloquium of parishes held in Porto (Portugal) from 8 to 12 July. The participants came from Belgium, Spain, Portugal, England, Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Ukraine. The meeting consisted in a continuous exchange […]

di Alphonse Borras Belgium

PADRE GIANCARLO BOSSI È LIBERO: NOTA SIR

Pubblichiamo il commento del SIR alla notizia di questa sera della liberazione di padre Giancarlo Bossi, missionario del Pime, rapito il 10 giugno nelle Filippine. Padre Giancarlo Bossi, libero. Improvvisamente e finalmente la notizia, nel giorno del compleanno della sua mamma, 87 anni, che oggi ha avuto uno dei regali più grandi e più belli […]

di Redazione