Taizé" "

The sources of trust” “

“When the young, in their life, make a choice in favour of peace, they bring a hope that sheds light far, and ever further”: so declares Frère Roger , founder of the ecumenical community of Taizé, in his “Letter 2003” which will be meditated on by the young during the new year. The text of […]

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priests in Europe" "

Pity on his people ” “

An international symposium dedicated to the “Priest for the 21st century” was held in Paderborn (Germany) from 16 to 18 December”. It was attended by over 200 participants from the German-speaking countries in Europe: bishops, rectors of seminaries, theologians, exponents of the vocational ministry, students of theology. What is the priest’s role in a changing […]

di Sarah Numico" "" "

Germany: 2003, year of the Bible” “

A campaign to turn 2003 into the year of the Bible was launched by the German Christian churches, with the hope that greater familiarity with holy scripture may help people to find a meaning to their life. This is not the first time Germany has dedicated a whole year to the rediscovery of the Bible: […]

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France: the Church reorganizes itself” “

With the objective of simplifying its organizational structure, the French Church has redrawn the boundaries of its own ecclesiastical provinces, which are now reduced from 17 to 15. The new ecclesiastical provinces, which each regroup from 3 to 9 dioceses, replace the 9 “French “apostolic regions” created in 1961. The new reorganization was established by […]

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Great Britain: no to the BBC video on Mary” “

“In an age in which everything possible is done to promote a world of racial and religious tolerance, programmes which, even if unintentionally, attack the icons of the greatest religious faiths, are deplorable and regrettable”. So declared Msgr. Crispian Hollis, Catholic bishop of Portsmouth, in England, in commenting on the BBC’s intention to transmit a […]

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Austria: a homicidal act” “

On 17 December, Msgr. Andreas Laun, bishop emeritus of Salzburg, issued a statement on therapeutic abortion practised subsequent to the 22nd week of pregnancy. The bishop’s stance makes reference to the guidelines recently issued by a group of Austrian physicians, recommending a “gradual protection of prenatal life, increasing in proportion as the pregnancy progresses”. “Why […]

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ccee" "

Thoughts and projects” “

The Churches in response to the process of European reunification, the continent’s re-evangelization, the autumn sessions of the assemblies of bishops, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, the ecclesial presence in the media: these are some of the issues that have most focused the attention of the European episcopal conferences in recent months. We present a summary […]

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enlargement" "

Towards the new Europe of 25″ “

As expected, the European Council in Copenhagen last week (the last under the Danish Presidency) was able to conclude the membership negotiations with the first ten candidate countries: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, which will all become members of the European Union from 1 May 2004, following the […]

di Gian Andrea Garancini - Brussels" "" "

Poland” “

Satisfaction mixed with caution, and the need to analyse carefully what it will mean to “enter Europe” with the admittedly better conditions obtained in the Copenhagen negotiations: that’s the mixed feelings in Poland (the largest of the 10 new countries joining the EU, with a population of 39 million, in large part peasant farmers, 18,4% […]

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Europe in the Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace ” “

“Only two years before the encyclical Pacem in terris, in 1961, the ‘Berlin wall’ was erected to divide, and set against each other, not only the two parts of this city, but also two ways of understanding and building the earthly city. On either side of the wall life assumed a different character, inspired by […]

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