Archbishop Williams in Istanbul” “

On 17 November, the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, met His Holiness Bartholomew I in the course of an official visit to Istanbul and to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. “It’s important for me – said Williams – to be able to be here in my first year as archbishop. This visit is intended to […]

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Moscow: no to gay relationships ” “

The Russian Orthodox Church has severely condemned the consecration of Gene Robinson, the first Anglican bishops to have openly declared himself gay. In a communiqué of the Department of external relations, the Patriarchate of Moscow has announced the withdrawal of the Russian Orthodox Church from the Committee for cooperation with the Episcopalian Church in the […]

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European Parliament" "

Obstacle course” “” “

The “State of the Union” according to President Prodi Completing enlargement, pursuing political stability with appropriate institutional reform, and favouring sustainable economic growth: that is the gist of the programme announced by Romano Prodi in Strasbourg on 18 November. But he added that the EU must immediately tackle the numerous obstacles that stand in the […]

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More women candidates for the European elections ” “

The European elections of June 2004 are approaching and the commission for women’s rights is trying to draw attention to the need to encourage a balanced representation of the two sexes in the electoral lists. The European Parliament approved, on 6 November, a report drawn up by the commission, underlining the need for a greater […]

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Should the EU equip itself with military capabilities?” “

The European Union must equip itself with military capabilities to guarantee the credibility of the objectives of its foreign and defence policy. That is one of the central propositions of the report of the Commission “European defence: industrial and market questions – Towards a Community policy in military equipment”, which was examined by the European […]

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Cooperation with Asia and Latin America ” “

The EP adopted, on 6 November, a report on cooperation between the Community and the countries of Latin America and Asia. In particular, priority is given to the poorest countries and to the poorest sectors in the partner countries. As to the budgetary allocation, a modification is proposed, aimed at sanctioning a breakdown that would […]

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Dailies and periodicals” “” “

“Iraq, Israel, Palestine, from despair to madness?” That’s the headline of an article signed by Robert Malley, former special adviser to Clinton and now director of the Middle-East programme of the International Crisis Group, that appears in the French daily Le Monde of 19/11. “A trio of common principles is applicable to the two crises: […]

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front page" "

The challenge of living together” “” “

In France, following the controversy over the Islamic headscarf, people are now debating a possible bill that would ban religious signs and symbols in schools. We in the French Church are contrary to a law of this type for various reasons: first, because it risks developing very strong reactions and exacerbating community tensions; second, because […]

di Stanislas Lalanne" "General Secretary of the " "French Episcopal Conference" "" "

ccee-comece-cec" "

No to the destruction of human embryos ” “

“Deep concern” about the proposal adopted by the European Parliament to grant EU funds to research that entails the destruction of human embryos has been expressed by the Commission of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe ( Comece) in a statement put out on 19 November, immediately after hearing news of the proposal. “We are deeply […]

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Consultation on the Charta Oecumenica” “

“Monitoring the ecumenical situation in eastern Europe and identifying how the process of the Charta Oecumenica may help tackle existing difficulties”: that’s the objective of the Consultation to be held at Leanyfálu, in Hungary, from 27 to 30 November, on the invitation of the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe ( CCEE) and the Conference […]

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