religionS AND ENVIRONMENT" "

It’s everyone’s garden” “

The 6th Consultation promoted by the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE) on “The responsibility of the Churches and religions for the creation” ended at Namur (Belgium) on 6 June. It was an occasion for exchange and dialogue between different communities and dialogue with other religious traditions, without forgetting the reflection on the […]

di Redazione

Ireland: the bishops and the referendum” “

“This referendum makes the adoption of a policy on immigration that is global, fair and transparent increasingly urgent”. Without such a policy the rights of the more vulnerable are at risk. That’s the warning of the standing Council of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, which recently issued a statement on the referendum amending article 9 of […]

di Redazione

Holland: growing vocations to the priesthood” “

Twelve new Catholics priests in Holland were ordained on Saturday 5 June. It’s the tradition in this country to celebrate ordinations in the period around Pentecost. The new priests were ordained in Utrecht, Den Bosch, Roermond, Haarlem and Rotterdam. Other ordinations are due to take place in November, on the feast of the national saint, […]

di Redazione

England Wales: "Keeping families afloat" ” “

“I congratulate the project ‘Keeping families afloat’. The necessary commitment to the support of family life is very complex. We must oppose everything that diminishes the family or contributes to dismantle it; that’s why ‘Caritas social action’ and this initiative are so important”, said the Catholic Primate of England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor. The […]

di Redazione

European islam?" "

It’s still too early” “

According to some estimates, some 17 million Muslims are now living in the European Union. There were only 800,000 in 1950. It’s not easy, however, to furnish accurate figures, because Islamic religion makes no provision for a register of believers, of the kind we have in our parishes, and also because most European states reject […]

di Redazione

ecumenism " "

CEC: a Christian voice for Europe” “

The executive of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of the Evangelic Church of Germany (EKD) agree on the “need for an explicit reference to the Christian roots of Europe in the constitutional treaty of the European Union”. This agreement emerged during the meeting of the CEC Executive held at the Evangelic […]

di Redazione

Germany: Catholics and Evangelicals to Schröder” “

“A reference to God is the expression of the spiritual foundations of Europe and therefore deserves a place in the preamble”: the point is made by Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German Episcopal Conference, and Evangelic Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairman of the Council of the Evangelic Church of Germany, in a joint letter to […]

di Redazione

Anglicans: Canadian synod and gay marriages” “

By deciding to defer to 2007 the introduction of religious services to bless unions between homosexuals, the 300 members of the Canadian Anglican General Synod avoided condemnation by the Anglican evangelicals that would have caused the split of their communion. The decision was hailed by the archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of 77 million […]

di Redazione

Combating discrimination in the EU” “

With the aim of “promoting the participation of the main interested parties and the public at large in the definition for measures for combating discrimination”, the European Commission launched a consultation via Internet on Thursday, 3 June. The Consultation, which will run to the end of August, is a follow up to the “Green Paper […]

di Redazione

More funds for democracy and human rights” “

Subject to the approval of Council and Parliament, the European Commission last week voted for a substantial increase of its 2004 budget in favour of the European project for democracy and human rights. 26,625,000 euros are to be added to the 106 Meuro already allocated for the year in course. Two already existing budgetary lines […]

di Redazione