Ireland, the Islamic community meets Cardinal Connell” “

A meeting recently took place in the Irish capital between the archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, and a group of representatives of the Islamic community, including the secretary of the European Council for the fatwa, sheik Hussein Halawa, and the director of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland, Noah Al-Jkadoo. The main point on […]

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Germany: serious shortage of priests” “

A continuing problem in Germany is the shortage of priests; turnover has been stabilized at a very low level. In 2002, 131 priests were ordained, a number wholly insufficient to cope with the problem of the ageing of the clergy. According to Rainer Birkenmaier, director of the Centre for vocations of the German Bishops’ Conference, […]

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Switzerland: Aids campaign poster withdrawn ” “

After the protest of the Swiss bishops, the Federal Bureau for Public Health has decided to withdraw one of the posters proposed as part of its “Stop Aids 2003” Campaign launched last week, in the middle of Holy Week. The Swiss bishops had protested against the campaign which had shown itself to be “offensive” to […]

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Austria" "

Preparations in full swing” “

The preparation of the Katholikentag (Catholic assembly) of Central Europe, the city mission, the role of Catholics in political life, social doctrine, and the training of teachers: these were the main questions on the agenda of the Austrian bishops at their spring plenary assembly, held at St. Georgen am Längsee in recent days. The Katholikentag […]

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Slovenia" "

A deep and widely shared desire” “

“How Catholic is Slovenia?”. According to the local Episcopal Conference, it is a question to which it is difficult to give a clear answer, in the light of two recent surveys on the matter: one by the Statistics Institute of the Slovenian Republic, the other based on annual parish data. 58% of the Slovenian population […]

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Salvation Army and the emergency ” “

The French Foundation of the Salvation Army, an international movement that has campaigned to relieve the hardship of people in difficulties for the last 120 years and that now has a worldwide membership of two and a half million, in reporting on the activities it performed in France in the winter of 2002-2003, noted “the […]

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press review" "

Dailies and periodicals” “

The debate on “post Saddam” and the consequences the war might have on the international scenario continues in the main international dailies. Thus, Pierre Hassner writing in Le Monde (26/4) comments: “The verdict that history and morality will pass on the war in Iraq will depend, first of all, on its consequences for the Iraqi […]

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editorial" "

Europe’s identity and new ties ” “

The drafting of the European Constitution in recent months represents for the European Union the only way of ensuring that enlargement does not result in the dilution of an historic idea, but its development in a new phase, after fifty years. There’s always the risk of the European debate becoming self-referential, of remaining a prisoner […]

di Francesco Bonini" "" "

Le proposte di Giscard ” “” “

“La bozza del presidente della Convenzione è contraria agli orientamenti emersi in Convenzione e nei gruppi di lavoro e non rispecchia le conclusioni del Vertice di Atene”. Con queste parole la Commissione Europea boccia la proposta di Giscard d’Estaing. Dal palazzo dell’Esecutivo sono molti quelli che rifiutano la riduzione di poteri della Commissione a favore […]

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Emendamenti alla prima stesura” “

Incalzato dalle critiche di Commissione e Parlamento Giscard scarta la proposta di affiancare al Presidente del Consiglio un Vicepresidente, così come perde carattere di ufficialità la costituzione di un Consiglio direttivo, tra l’altro ridotto a tre membri. Inoltre, la Commissione sarà composta da quindici membri, compreso il Ministro degli esteri Ue, e da quindici Commissari […]

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