IGC" "

Time for the Governments to speak” “

The work of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), called to adopt the Constitution for the enlarged Europe, is due to officially open in Rome on Saturday 4th October. The last meeting of the general affairs Council confirmed the atmosphere of growing tension between the delegations: in its role as chairman of the IGC, Italy has had […]

di Redazione

The new archbishop of Canterbury to meet the Pope” “

The “Roman visit” of the new archbishop of Canterbury (and head of the Anglican Communion), Rowan Williams, will culminate with his meeting with the Pope on 4 October. Dr. Williams is visiting Rome with his wife Jane and close aides for an “exchange of visits” that is “a clear signal of the desire of the […]

di Redazione

EU/ME" "

Is the answer economic?” “

The recent meeting of the Quartet in New York and the continuous appeals of the European Union support, without distinction, the need for Israel and Palestine to respect the accords of the Road Map. But never since the beginning of the latest Intifada have the hopes for peace seemed so slender; Palestinian suicide attacks and […]

di Redazione

universities" "

The frontiers of the spirit” “

The French philosopher Jacques Maritain (the 30th anniversary of whose death is being celebrated this year) wrote: “The University must teach universal knowledge, not only because its architecture embraces the sum of the highest fields in human knowledge, but also because in each university worthy of the name the spirit of teaching is an impulse […]

di Jean-Dominique Durand" "University of Lyon" "" "

The cyclists’ church” “

Cyclists travelling along the dedicated cycle-track along the banks of the Elbe, from Hamburg to Prague, are now able to stop and recoup their physical and spiritual energies in a special church reserved for them. The Protestant church in the village of Wesnig, near Torgau, in eastern Germany, is open for cyclists wishing to refresh […]

di Redazione

First woman pastor ordained in Poland ” “

The first woman pastor in the history of Polish Protestantism was recently ordained in the reformed evangelical parish of Zelòw (near Lodz). Wiera Smetana-Jelinek, aged 43, married with two children, graduated in theology and has for years acted as assistant to her husband, the pastor in charge of the congregation of Zelòw. The reformed evangelical […]

di Redazione

ecumenism" "

Towards the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church? ” “

“I believe that God will lead us towards unity because the historical reasons for division – the revolution, the civil war and the cold war – no longer exist”. So said the spokesman of the Patriarchate of Moscow, arch-priest Vsevolod Chaplin, following the meeting held in recent days at Russia’s consulate general in New York […]

di Redazione

Czech Republic" "

Disabled, but "not forever" ” “

Caritas Prague. Residential pastoral weeks, meetings with priests, rehabilitation projects, are just some of the measures promoted by the Catholic Church of the Czech Republic in favour of the disabled. “The activities in question – explains Jaroslav Nemec, director of Caritas in Prague – have long been promoted in the various dioceses. So the European […]

di Redazione

Germany" "

Rediscovering a treasure” “

The plenum of the German Episcopal Conference ended in Fulda at the end of September. The questions discussed included Europe, the European Constitution, the protection of life, the family and the recent sentence on the “Islamic headscarf”. European Constitution and Christianity. Endorsing the concept of the EU as a “community of values”, the bishops “approve” […]

di Redazione

England: spiritual renewal” “

A programme of “spiritual and pastoral renewal” inspired by John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter “Novo millennio ineunte” began in the Wembley arena, in the presence of 12,000 people, on 26 September. It will move into top gear in October. In a pastoral letter to the parishes of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’ Connor, archbishop of Westminster, […]

di Redazione