Cec: more space for ecology in the churches

The European Christian Environmental European Network (ECEN), an ecumenical pressure group linked to the Conference of European Church (CEC), has asked for more space to be reserved for reflection on the protection of the environment in Church calendars. ECEN made its plea in a press release issued at the end of a consultation held in […]

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DISABILITY

Right of citizenship

Improving the quality of life of disabled persons between now and 2015: that’s the objective of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which adopted in recent days a recommendation, addressed to all the Council’s 46 member states, called “Action Plan to promote the rights and full participation in society of people with […]

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POPULATION

How to stem the decline?

Family, birth rate, solidarity between the generations, role of the elderly in society, immigration: the debate on the “demographic question” is gaining a new lease of life in the European Union. The EU institutions seem to realise that these are crucial issues for the future of the continent, and are of immediate relevance for social […]

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FRONT PAGE

A voice at the Eu level

When I joined Comece – the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community – back in August 2004, the European Union was a hive of activity, not least due to the Union’s historic enlargement in May 2004. The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe was due for signature by the heads of state […]

di Clare CoffeyComece

FRANCE

Listening to the young

The plenary assembly of the French bishops opened at Lourdes on 4 April, on the very day France returned for the second time to the streets to demonstrate against the contracts of first employment (CPE). Reports from Paris spoke of 700,000 protestors just in the capital alone. So the analysis of the country’s “social crisis” […]

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UNITED KINGDOM

The Scottish Church aims at text messages

Text messages on cell phones for keeping Catholics informed of the latest news: the idea is that of the Catholic Church in Scotland, which has sent over 100,000 letters to each parish in the country to recruit at least 20,000 subscribers to the new service. “Texting is a rapid and modern way of sending information […]

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Mass for immigrants at Westminster

A Mass dedicated to immigrant workers will be concelebrated on 1st May in Westminster Cathedral in London by Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, Primate of the Catholics of England and Wales, by the Archbishop of Southwark Kevin McDonald and by the Bishop of Brentwood Thomas McMahon. The Mass has been conceived as a tribute to the various communities […]

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Denunciation by hospital chaplains

“As Catholic chaplains we are concerned that the needs of Catholics in the hospitals of England and Wales remain unanswered”. The denunciation is contained in a statement issued by thirty British Catholic hospital chaplains at the end of a conference in which the Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols also participated. “We ask hospitals to enable […]

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Number of English becoming Catholics is increasing

The number of English adults who become Catholics has increased for the second year running. The phenomenon had already been registered last year in the London dioceses of Westminster and Southwark. This year the trend has been confirmed and has spread to other dioceses. At Southwark 468 people became Catholics, 65 more than last year. […]

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Messa per immigrati a Westminster

Una Messa dedicata ai lavoratori immigrati verrà concelebrata il prossimo primo maggio nella cattedrale londinese di Westminster dal card. Murphy-O’Connor, Primate dei cattolici di Inghilterra e Galles, dall’arcivescovo di Southwark Kevin McDonald e dal vescovo di Brentwood Thomas McMahon. La Messa è stata pensata come un omaggio alle diverse comunità di immigrati che compongono Londra […]

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