Hungary: "cultural bulwarks"” “

Hungary’s recent history has hardly favoured community life; the problem was compounded by that of vocations and the lack of material resources. The Hungarian Church is having to come to terms with the reality of parish life and looks to the future with a mixture of fear and hope. “Today – says Father Mihály Kránitz, […]

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Bulgaria: serving the young and families” “

Bulgarian parishes have been undergoing a process of change ever since the fall of the Communist regime 14 years ago. Before that it was difficult to prepare the faithful for the sacraments, which were often administered without preparation. As the first step, efforts were made to propose a permanent sacramental ministry from childhood and adolescence […]

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Looking to the future” “” “

Understanding its own history and present-day reality, changing mentality, and redrawing the map: this was the course followed by the diocese of Clermont-Ferrand, at the heart of France, in the effort to adapt its own parish communities and make then more responsive to the evangelising mission of our time. The transformation is far-reaching. It is […]

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Spain: plenary assembly of bishops” “

Firm condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Madrid on 11 March and solidarity with the victims, satisfaction for the entry of ten new countries into the European Union, and the sharing of the concerns expressed in the keynote address by the president of the Spanish episcopate and archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, on […]

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Holland: bishops support palliative treatment” “

“Authorizing by law that it is permissible to put an end to life on demand is not the best way to increase transparency about the procedures and attention of physicians to the terminal phase of life”. This declaration of principle is contained in a statement put out by the Dutch Bishops’ Conference in recent days. […]

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Lithuania: sex education for children rejected” “

Following a meeting held in Vilnius between Cardinal Audrys J. Backis and Arturas Zuokas, respectively archbishop and mayor of the Lithuanian capital, in recent days, a UN-backed programme of sex education for adolescents was cancelled. The meeting was the result of a petition addressed by over a hundred parents and by the archbishop himself to […]

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european union" "

Not only percentages” “” “

According to data collected by Eurostat, Eurobarometer and the World Health Organization, 79% of the inhabitants of the Fifteen say they are satisfied with their own life, while only 61% of the ten new member states of the EU say the same. 54% of the inhabitants of the Fifteen affirm, moreover, that they are satisfied […]

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European Parliament in comic strips” “

One of the ideas that Brussels has come up with to familiarise citizens with the work of the European Parliament and to publicise the forthcoming elections for its renewal is a comic strip. It takes the form of a story in “instalments” based on life within the two official seats of the EP, one in […]

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Flights to the USA and protection of privacy” “

Following 11 September, the US Congress had imposed on American airlines the obligation to report the personal identity details of all passengers on arrival. But this regulation, to be interpreted in anti-terrorism terms, had given rise to strong reservations on the European side of the Atlantic. After a long standoff, the Commission has now adopted […]

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Less business bureaucracy and more research ” “

The EU Council for competition, chaired by the Irish Minister for Industry, Mary Harney, met in Brussels last Monday. The ministerial summit approved a plan of work that “identifies the priority areas for reducing trade and industry regulations, with a view to reaching an agreement by the end of 2004”. At the end of the […]

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