Esercizi spirituali: "aumenta l’interesse"” “

“Spesso la domanda supera l’offerta”: così il card. Karl Lehmann, presidente della Conferenza episcopale tedesca, ha sintetizzato la situazione degli esercizi spirituali in Germania. Intervenuto il 18 settembre a Bingen sul Reno in occasione del 75° anniversario dell’Addes, comunità di lavoro dei segretariati diocesani tedeschi per gli esercizi spirituali, Lehmann ha evidenziato i dati del […]

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press review" "

Dailies and periodicals” “

“Chirac defends the UNO against Bush”. That’s the opening headline in Le Monde (24/9), which notes that “the disagreements between France and the USA on the war in Iraq and the role of the United Nations in international politics remain unchanged”. The speeches of Jacques Chirac and George W. Bush to the UN General Assembly […]

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Water and atmospheric pollution” “

The European Commission adopted, on 22 September, a draft for a new EU directive aimed at protecting underground water from pollution. The directive will introduce monitoring requirements and quality objectives for member states, which shall be obliged to control the quality of their water and its levels of pollution. Such controls shall be conducted in […]

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Policies for employment” “

The candidate countries wishing to become members of the European Union must align their economic and employment policies at the Community level, in such a way as to create a level playing field with those of the fifteen current member states of the EU: so says a report issued by the Commission of employment and […]

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Organ donation and transplant” “

Accepting the invitation expressed by the European Parliament, during the “Venice Conference on the safety and quality of organ donation and transplant in the EU” (17/18 September), an agreement has been signed inviting the European Council and Commission to begin the process for the adoption of the first directive in the sector. The joint document, […]

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Social policies” “

The report of the Commission on the social situation in Europe in 2003 has recently been published. The document – fourth of the series since the Lisbon summit – “analyses the various factors that, on the basis of the social indicators common to the current 15 member states, concur to describe the social situation of […]

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EU in brief" "

Declarations on ICG ” “

Ten days before the Intergovernmental Conference is due to open (in Rome, on 4 October), declarations on the draft European Constitution continue (cf. Sir no. 62/2003). Italy has announced that it “sees no reason to re-open to renewed discussion the essential lines of the draft drawn up by the Convention”. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, chairman of […]

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The disaster of the Prestige” “

By an amendment adopted with 315 votes in favour, 183 against and 6 abstentions, the European Parliament, meeting in plenary session on 23 September, asked for the setting up of a temporary commission to investigate the causes and consequences of the disaster of the oil tanker Prestige, which sank in November 2002. The commission would […]

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The Convention of tziganes ” “

Between 8,000 and 15,000 tziganes attended the annual Convention promoted by the “Life and Light” association of the tzigane evangelical Mission of France, which represents some 100,000 French gipsies. This year’s Convention, held in the disused aerodrome of Malbouhans (France) from 27 to 31 August, did not draw the usual 20-30,000 nomads of previous conventions […]

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ecumenism" "

Ecumenical session of youth ” “

“We’ve succeeded in bearing witness to our faith in mutual trust, overcoming long-standing barriers”, said the Catholic Samuel, a final-year student of applied arts. “I greatly appreciated the ecumenical spirit, in particular the informal debates and the prayer in common”, says the Lutheran Johan, student of biology: just two comments on the second national ecumenical […]

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