Germany" "

Cardinal Lehman: "Save Christmas!"” “

“Even though many people in our country no longer live in the Christian faith, Christmas continues to retain its meaning for almost everyone”: so says Cardinal Lehmann, president of the German Episcopal Conference and archbishop of Mainz, in an article published in the paper of the bishopric of Mainz, Glauben und Leben. Deploring the use […]

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Turkish Church: it’s now the turn of the dioceses” “

“It was a particularly laborious assembly. Our faithful are few and far between, scattered over a huge territory. So the first aim was to bring together all their representatives. And this meeting will be remembered as the first of its kind for our Church”. Satisfaction was expressed by Msgr. Louis Pelâtre, vicar apostolic of Istanbul, […]

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Turkey

” “Youth, families, and society at large

The ecclesial assembly of the Turkish Church was held in Istanbul from 5 to 8 December. It brought together delegates of the various Catholic communities (Latin, Armenian, Syriac and Chaldaean) in Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir, Antioch, Adana, Mersin, Urfa, Trabzon). It was an important meeting which concluded a process lasting four years. It was in fact […]

di Aylin M. Kiziler - Istanbul" "" "

Serbia" "

Stalemate at the ballot box” “

Not even this time did Vojislav Kostunica succeed in being elected president of Serbia. For the third time in four months, the presidential elections on Sunday 8 December failed to reach the necessary quorum, 50% plus one of the electors. Kostunica, current president of the Yugoslav Federation (comprising Serbia, Vojvodina, Kossovo and Montenegro), was confirmed […]

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the Convention" "

Greater democracy, greater effectiveness, greater simplicity” “

Its agenda included the presentation of three final reports by specialized work groups but the attention of the twelfth plenary session of the Convention on the future of Europe (Brussels, 5-6/12/2002) especially focused on the contribution of the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, to the debate on the future European Constitution. “Penelope”. The […]

di Gian Andrea Garancini - Brussels" "" "" "" "

Estonia” “

“Estonian society is waiting with some optimism for the successful conclusion of its integration into the European Union. The majority of the population is in favour of such a step, but there’s also an important minority of eurosceptics who especially fear, on the basis of past experience, a threat to the country’s real independence, a […]

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Slovakia” “

“The recent concrete steps towards EU enlargement arouse feelings of hope among the faithful and their pastors, but also a consciousness of the new tasks that await us”. So says Father Marian Gavenda, spokesman of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference. To guide the faithful in the recent general and local elections the bishops replaced the traditional […]

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Latvia” “

Latvia’s entry into the European Union may help the country to break the wall of isolation and gain access to Christian values. That’s why the bishops of Latvia support EU membership, calling it a “favourable and positive” step: that’s the view of Cardinal Janis Pujats, archbishop of Riga (the country’s capital). Latvia, with some 2,400,000 […]

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Poland ” “” “

Following up our reports on the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta (cf. SirEurope no. 44), we are now providing further reports on the other four countries about to enter the EU (Poland, Estonia, Slovakia and Latvia). With its 39 million inhabitants, per capita income of 5,090 euros and annual economic growth rate […]

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COMECE" "

Hope, trust and solidarity” “” “

“Hope, trust and solidarity”: these are the three recommendations that the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Community (COMECE) makes to the political authorities and to all citizens, present and future, of the European Union faced by the “imminent challenge” of the entry into the European Union (EU) of ten new countries: Cyprus, the […]

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