EN | IT | DE | FR – “We cannot be silent” is the title of the statement issued on August 2 by the Italian Catholic Bishops’ Conference to denounce the persecution of Christians in the world, particularly in Iraq and Nigeria. The Italian bishops vigorously addressed a Europe which is “careless and indifferent, blind and dumb.” For August 15 they have proclaimed a Day of Prayer for persecuted Christians. This is the full text of their statement.
EN | DE | IT – This July 28, 2014, was a day of deep mourning – the hundredth anniversary of the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war against Serbia, which triggered the First World War, the “seminal catastrophe” of the twentieth century. In recent months, much has been written and discussed on this July 28, 1914 (although very little about the war of the “central powers” in Serbia, which – in terms of percentage – had the highest rate of losses of the First World War, with its 1.1 million victims – including military and civilian).
EN | IT – To create stability and security between NPA and Israel and throughout the Mediterranean area, we need a Europe with its own foreign policy, not 28 ministers in random order. This cannot be the outcome of the activism of a few individual leaders, but the result of a transfer of sovereignty and a revision of the treaties in the name of the Twenty-eight.
EN | IT – The European Union must set a clear “Zero-Hunger Goal” before the end of this year, with the aim of eradicating worldwide hunger by 2025. This should be taken into consideration by the new European Parliament and included among the priorities of the Italian presidency of the EU when outlining a common EU position on the Post-2015 Agenda.
EN | IT – “It is now recognized that, for the first time, the world has the technology and resources to eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime.” This is why “there is no excuse for us”. These are the resolute words used by Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development, in early June and only few months away from the renewal of the European Commission, to express the European commitment to carry on the negotiations for the establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These will be a new series of international commitments that will represent the natural continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) launched by the United Nations in 2000 and that will be reaching their conclusion in 2015.