EN | IT | FR | DE | ES – On the occasion of International Roma Day (8 April 2015), Cardinal Peter Erdő, CCEE President and the Anglican Bishop Christopher Hill, President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) issue the following message.
EN | IT – March 16, Pope Francis received Brother Alois in a private audience, for the second time in his pontificate. The Pope proved himself to be highly attentive to the ecumenical vocation of the Community and to their activity of welcoming young people to Taizé. He will pray in communion with all those who will be gathered in Taizé on August 16, which will mark the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Brother Roger and the tenth anniversary of his death.
EN | IT | DE – The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) expresses in favour of rapid and uniform legal standards regarding surrogacy at European and international level, especially to prevent the further spread of commercial surrogacy. All forms of surrogacy represent a serious violation of the human dignity of those who are involved, says a document of the COMECE addressed to the European Parliament.
EN | IT – The Catholic Church in Europe speaks out publicly on the intensification of nationalist phenomena. She does it through the European network of the 31 national “Justice and Peace” commissions, by means of a document, The Nationalism of Exclusion, which opens, along with other proposals, the Concerted Action 2015.
EN | FR | IT – The Social Weeks of France (Semaines Sociales de France) have launched a call to build fraternity. This text, written after the January 11 demonstration, expresses the proposal of a “week of fraternity” that the Social Weeks of France had already presented following the 2008 session in Lyon. To sign the call
EN | IT – “The latest, umpteenth tragedy at sea occurred in the Sicilian Channel, which is worsening by the hour – according to a press release issued recently by the Scalabrinian Missionaries – harshly shows how Europe, an increasingly crumbling fortress, on the one hand shows itself as a champion of fundamental human rights, then also towards migrants and refugees, but on the other does not contribute effectively to the opening of legal channels for migration, as various voices have been crying out for too long”.
EN | IT – On January 27, 1945, the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz was liberated by the Allies. 70 years after this date, Eurcom recalls that immense tragedy with a poem by Martin Niemöller, a German theologian who initially endorsed Hitler’s policy, but later on he became a fierce opponent. Arrested and imprisoned in a death camp, he was liberated in 1945. In these few verses Niemöller expresses regret and repentance for his own silence. This poem is still a strong warning for us today.
EN | IT | FR | DE | ES – Human dignity is given by God and is absolute. The ongoing conflict assaults the dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis, but in a particular way our commitment to the poor calls us to lift up the suffering people in Gaza (Statement of the Co-ordination of Bishops’ Conferences in support of the Church in the Holy Land)
EN | IT | FR – It is assessed that over 800,000 women, men and children are the victims, today, of trafficking in human beings within the EU. Almost 60% of the victims come from one of the countries of the Union. It’s becoming urgent for the EU and its member states to put into effect the existing legal framework and to intensify the cooperation with civil society and the religious organizations working with the victims on a local level. This is one of the main messages coming from the Seminar for a Dialogue with the European Commission organized on November 27th by Comece and by the Commission “Eglise et Société” of Cec, in collaboration with Ccme.
EN | IT – Thank you, Pope Francis, for the gift of Your visit to Turkey, where you have met not only a hard-working and generous people, but also a living Christian community. Although the local Catholic community is a minority, it is aware of belonging to a larger reality from which it draws courage, strength, and hope to face the daily hardship of Christian witness…