The meeting of the presidents of the Bishops Conferences of South-Eastern Europe, promoted by the Council of European Bishops Conferences (Ccee), began yesterday afternoon in Sofia, Bulgaria. Seven conferences are attending: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey and the International Bishops Conferences of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Serbia, Fyrom and Montenegro). Guests will exchange opinions until Sunday 2nd March about "Assistance to engaged couples and spiritual guidance for married couples", with special reference to mixed marriages. A subject "that is extremely topical, especially in our countries", explains to SIR mgr. Christo Proykov, apostolic hexarch of Sofia and president of the Bulgarian Bishops Conference, who comments that "the exchange of experiences that usually occurs on such occasions is valuable for the pastoral work which is then carried out locally". "In the relativistic atmosphere in which Europe is now adds the prelate , the family is often threatened. So spiritual guidance for married couples is very important, especially in mixed marriages, where the non-Catholic party must be explained, with lots of love and care, about the specificity of the Catholic Sacrament and the attendant obligations".
