” “The Council of Christian Churches in France composed of the Catholic Church, the Protestant Federation of France and the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops is worried about the amendments contained in the new Immigration Bill, which was passed by the Council of Ministers on March 29th and will be discussed in Parliament in early May. The Churches wanted to show their "concern" in a letter they sent yesterday to prime minister Dominique de Villepin, signed by card. Jean-Pierre Ricard, pastor Jean-Arnold de Clermont and Orthodox metropolitan bishop Emmanuel. Yesterday, Jean-Pierre Arnold, president of the Protestant Federation, and Patrick Peugeot, president of Cimade (ecumenical services for aid and assistance to foreigners in France), met the Minister of the Interiors, Nicolas Sarkozy, to ask him that the bill be submitted to "a national reflection, keeping into account the importance of the migratory phenomenon". Again, yesterday, prime minister De Villepin met the archbishop of Paris, mgr. André Vingt-Trois. A meeting said the archbishop "that had been planned a long time ago", during which the new bill was "hardly" discussed since "the bishops have taken their position on the subject and have clearly expressed it". (to be continued) ” “
