social policies" "

Europe re-thinking "welfare"” “

The welfare State is a heritage of the whole of Europe, albeit in the various forms it has assumed in the various countries in the course of time. This heritage needs to be defended and promoted, if necessary “remodelled” to respond to the new needs and the available resources. This, in brief, is the “message […]

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France: solidarity that "fortifies"” “

20 dead, 12 missing, thousands homeless: that’s the toll of 36 hours of torrential rain and floods in the south-east of France, to which incalculable material damage should also be added. The images of the disaster transmitted by the main television new bulletins unleashed a wave of national solidarity, urged also by the main charitable […]

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Russia" "

"A railway station is my ” “Curia"” “

After the Milanese Father Stefano Caprio (11 April), the bishop of Polish origin Jerzy Mazur (19 April) and the Czech priest Stanislaw Krainac (10 August), two other Polish priests, Edward Maskiewicz and Jaroslav Wisnieswski, have been stopped at the Russian frontier and prevented from re-entering the country in recent days. So the list of the […]

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France" "

The Mediterranean for peace ” “

“A year after 11 September”. That’s the title adopted by the French bishops for a statement released yesterday, a year after the terrorist attacks on the USA to reiterate their “unconditional condemnation of every form of terrorism”. The text, signed by Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux and president of the French Episcopal Conference, also denounces […]

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Germany" "

A vademecum for electors ” “

In view of the elections to the Bundestag, the federal Diet (cf. SirEuropa no.30 of 1st August 2002), the German Episcopal Conference (Dbk) issued two documents on 4 September: the declaration of German bishops on the occasion of the elections of 22 September and an appeal to the faithful, read out during all celebrations on […]

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The German electoral system” “

Germany is a federal state endowed with a two-chamber system: the Federal Diet (Bundestag) and the Federal Council (Bundesrat). Elections to the Bundestag will be held on 22 September. For the next legislature, the fifteenth, 598 members of the Bundestag will be elected by direct universal suffrage, on the basis of a proportional electoral system […]

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Plenary assembly ” “of the bishops’ conference” “

With a communiqué issued on 9 September, the German Bishops’ Conference has announced its autumn plenary session, which will be held in Fulda from 23 to 26 September. “An assessment of WYD 2002 in Canada in view of the next world youth day scheduled to be held in Germany in 2005; a study day for […]

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CCEE: a seminar on buddhism” “

A seminar on buddhism organized by the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE) will be held in Strasbourg from 19 to 22 September. The aim of the seminar is to reflect on a form of spirituality now widespread in Western countries. “In the 1990s, the European media – points out Father Hans Vöcking, […]

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Austria: a cardinal and a bishop reminisce” “

In the last number of the magazine of the archdiocese of Vienna, “Thema Kirche”, Cardinal Franz König, former archbishop of the Austrian capital, and Bishop emeritus Helmut Krätzl look back at their careers in the Church. König, a bishop for half a century, recalls among other things the experience of taking part in Vatican Council […]

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European day of parents and school” “

8th October 2002 will be “European day of parents and school” in all the countries of the Union. Promoted by the EPA (www.epa_parents.org), the European Parents Association, and sponsored by the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, the Day is planned to become an annual event and be celebrated in the second week of […]

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