Italy: letter to Catholic Action” “

“The promotion of the Christian laity, in Vatican Council II’s vision of the Church, is also achieved through the various forms of lay association, among which a particular role is played by Catholic Action”. So say the Italian bishops, in a letter sent to Catholic Action on 10 April. The Italian Episcopal Conference calls Catholic […]

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United Kingdom: prayers for the Queen Mother” “

“A profound sense of duty, unfailing good humour, a life that permitted millions of others to live” . So the archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, primate of the Church of England, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, archbishop of Westminister, remembered the Queen Mother during her funeral service in Westminster Abbey in London. The Anglican archbishop gave […]

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France: a woman spokesperson for the bishops” “

She’s thirty-eight years old, married with four children: Marie-Caroline de Marliave has just been appointed the new director of communications of the French Episcopal Conference. It’s the first time that the French episcopate has assigned such a post to a woman, hitherto filled either by priests or religious. She will share responsibility for acting as […]

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Ireland: enquiry into sexual abuses” “

An independent enquiry into the scandal of sexual abuses of children has been decided by the bishops of the Irish Episcopal Conference, gathered in extraordinary session after the resignation of the bishop of Ferns, Brendan Oliver Comiskey, on 6 April. Bishop Comiskey is accused by a BBC documentary of failing promptly to denounce a priest, […]

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European Union " "

The EP urges sanctions against Israel” “” “

The European Parliament, in its session in Strasbourg on 10 April, approved, with 269 votes in favour, 208 against and 22 abstentions, a resolution calling for the suspension of the accord of association between the European Union and Israel. The EP also severely condemned the Palestinian terrorism and called for an embargo on arms sales […]

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Lack of transparency of EU institutions” “

In the course of the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in April, the European Mediator Jacob Söderman presented his report for 2001, a document aimed at reviewing the cases of maladministration that European citizens have suffered in their relations with EU institutions. Söderman declared his lack of conviction about the real application, […]

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Aids: twinning arrangement between hospitals in North and South” “

A targeted project to launch twinning arrangements between hospitals in Italy, France, Spain and Luxembourg and those in the developing countries most suffering from the Aids epidemic, where in some cases HIV infection affects over 30% of the population: that’s the objective of the “international network of hospital therapeutic solidarity against Aids”, a programme of […]

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” “Dailies and periodicals

The Middle East remains at the centre of the attention of the main European dailies. “War and diplomacy” is the main headline of the Herald Tribune (10/4), which reports on the mission of American Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East. “Ariel Sharon speaks of peace and wages war”, is the headline carried […]

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agenda" "

European Parliament” “

The Commissions of the EP are due to meet in Brussels from Monday 15 to Thursday 18 April 2002. The main points on the agenda are as follows: · Protection of salaried workers: insolvency of the employer (amendment of Directive 80/987/EEC), (Commission for employment and social affairs, rapporteur: Bouwman); · Employment policy: European strategy for […]

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European Convention” “

The next plenary session of the Convention for the future of Europe will be held in Brussels on 15 and 16 April. The Presidium of the Convention has sent the titular and substitute members a memorandum (CONV 16/02) containing a list of points on which the debate should be focused. The main issue is the […]

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