Voices from the East” “

Churches that have only recently emerged from the “silence” of the communist regime and that are now grappling with the problems of reconstruction, ecumenical commitment, defence of life and the crisis of vocations: this is the image of the Churches of Eastern Europe in our time. It emerges from the addresses given by some of […]

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Italy: 53rd bishops’ assembly” “

“Terrorism, acts of war and violations of human rights, which make the international situation so difficult and dangerous, are a heavy burden on our hearts”, declared John Paul II in greeting his Italian “fellow bishops”, meeting in the Vatican for their 53rd General Assembly (17-21 May). “I continue to join in your prayer – said […]

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Germany: an ‘ecumenical’ parish” “

The interconfessional church of Biberach St. Martin (diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany) is unique of its kind, since only a few churches in Germany are still being used concurrently by two confessions. The parish church of the town has in fact been used as an interconfessional church ever since 1548. An ordinance on church services, successively […]

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Portugal: ever less children” “

“Without children there is no future” was the theme of Pro-Life Week celebrated in all parishes in Portugal from 16 to 23 May, on the initiative of the Commission for the Family of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference. Msgr. Jacinto Botelho, chairman of the Commission, declared that we need to start out from the parishes to […]

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Sixth Consultation on the environment” “

“The responsibility of the churches and religions for the creation” is the theme of the Sixth Consultation promoted by the CCEE, Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe, in collaboration with the diocese of Namur and the Episcopal Conference of Belgium, on Responsibility for the Creation, to be held at Namur, in Belgium, from 3 […]

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Meeting of Catholic spokespersons in Athens” “

The next meeting of the spokespersons and press officers of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe will be held in Athens from 24 to 27 June. Many issues are on the agenda. One session will be entirely dedicated to the Internet, to the opportunities for evangelization on the web, and to the ethical limits and potential […]

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Document on the future of the Union” “

A report on the future of the Union was presented in Brussels in recent days. With the title “Construction of a political Europe”, it forms part of the contributions to the debate within the Intergovernmental Conference called to draft the Constitution for the newly enlarged Europe. The document, which bears the signature of former French […]

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Plan for neighbour countries” “

The EU Commissioner for enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, recently presented a strategic document of the Commission on the future post-enlargement policy towards EU neighbouring countries: countries that will be debarred from directly joining the Union. The document proposes two main geo-political axes on which to concentrate European action in the years ahead: on the one hand, […]

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Reform of the directive on working hours” “

Following over a year’s consultations, the EU Executive adopted a document last week, asking the social partners concerned (representatives of employers and of workers) to reform some “crucial” aspects of the directive on working hours, in force since 1993. According to the document, the aspects on which the negotiation ought to focus are the following: […]

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Charlemagne Prize” “

The President of the European Parliament (EP) Pat Cox has been awarded the prestigious Charlemagne Prize, presented annually to personalities who have been particularly active in the promotion of European integration. The motivation for the award recalls Cox’s “exceptional merits in the enlargement and democratisation of the Union”. During the prize-giving ceremony, held in the […]

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