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3 February 2003
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NEWS
Archbishop Christodoulos on European Future
Archbishop Christodoulos, has pointed out on his concept of Europe speaking to a conference of Greek teachers . He said: “A great issue is how shall we defend, on the one hand, the European heritage, and on the other, the identity of the European peoples.
We must all be agreed that the American model "the right American is the one who is oblivious of its own national roots and language" will be the end of the European culture.
We should build the European Union as a community and not as a new melting entity” he added.
We should build our European community as she has been built within history: with her languages, literature, and the traditions of her nations.
We should build our Europe, without nationalisms, but with respect to our history".
[Source: ecclesia report]
Request for religious reference in planned Euro constitutional treaty
European Church representatives have asked the Greek European Union presidency to include a religious reference in the future European constitutional treaty.
A delegation from the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) met the Greek Minister for European Affairs, Tassos Giannitsis, in Brussels on Tuesday.
The meeting discussed the priorities of the Greek presidency and address certain specific concerns.
The Conference of European Churches is a fellowship of 127 Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe. It was founded in 1959 and has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.
COMECE is a commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conferences of EU member states. The Bishops' Conferences of Malta, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland are associate members.
During the meeting the representatives underlined their general support for European integration and the ongoing enlargement process. They stressed their continuing contribution to the dialogue on the future of Europe, which should not be conceived without a reference to the role played by Christianity in the history of the continent.
The Church representatives also stressed the need for a structured dialogue between the EU institutions and the Churches.
They expressed interest in contributing to the preparation of the EU summit with countries of South Eastern Europe which will be held in Thessaloniki on June 21.
Other issues discussed at the meeting included bioethics, social policy, migration and education.
Finally, the delegation of the Churches declared their concern over the threat of a war in the Gulf region and expressed their hope for a peaceful solution to the conflict within the framework of the United Nations.
[Source: Times of Malta]
Casini: Convention Must Take Account of Christian Tradition
The president of the Italian Parliament Pier Ferdinando Casini, declared that the future European Constitution must take into account the tradition of Christianity in Europe. Casini was speaking at a young people's convention on the future of Europe being held in Montecitorio.
Casini stated, "whether there is an explicit reference to the Christian roots of Europe in the European constitution or not is a decision which will be made by the Convention, and one regarding which I do not want to make a pronouncement with respect for those who do have this responsibility. However any reflection on European identity must take account of the millenary relationship which links Christian tradition to the history of Europe".
Casini stated that Europe "should be founded on values and principles which are common to the Constitutions of all European countries" and quoted "the principles of liberty, equality, justice and solidarity which are the cornerstone of our democracies".
[Source: Agenzia Giornalistica Italia]
Serb Orthodox Hierarchs to Visit Vatican
Serbian Orthodox Hierarchs will pay a six-day visit to the Vatican next week in efforts to improve Christian unity, the Holy See said Saturday.
The delegation — including Metropolitan of Montenegro Amfilohije, bishops Irinej of Novi Sad, Lavrentije and others — will be at the Vatican from Monday to next Saturday.
Relations between the Roman Catholic and the Serbian Orthodox churches were strained during more than five decades of communist rule in Yugoslavia, and grew worse under former President Slobodan Milosevic.
Pope John Paul II has made the improvement of relations a goal of his papacy. Papal envoy Cardinal Walter Kasper visited Serbia in May.
The Serbian delegation will meet with the pope on Thursday, and with other top Vatican officials throughout the trip.
The Serbian Orthodox Church released a statement Saturday, denying accusations by hardliners that the visit to Vatican was a sign of servility to the Holy See.
The purpose of going to Vatican is "an exchange of views, with mutual respect, about many issues about which we may even disagree," the statement said, adding that "our delegation is certainly not going to Rome to just passively listen."
[Source: Serbia News]
FEATURES
The 15th Assembly of CCME in Greece
Following the invitation of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, 50 delegates and observers from across Europe gathered in Athens and Aegina from 31st October to 4th November for the 15th General Assembly of the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME). The Assembly opened with a conference on 1 November in Athens. His Beatitude, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece called upon the local self-government, the social partners, the non-governmental organisations, the initiative of the citizens and most especially the church parishes to join together in a common effort and in harmonious but also critical collaboration with the institutional organs of the State and of the European Union, in order to withstand the various forms of emerging racism and to contribute to the creation of those presuppositions necessary for the decent and creative integration of foreigners, from which our society will certainly benefit.
The Conference dealt with Irregular Migration: A Challenge to European Migration and Asylum Policies. The Greek Minister of Interior, Constantinos Scandalidis, gave an overview of the plans for the EU Presidency in the first half of 2003. Underlining the need for a balanced response to irregular migration, he stressed that while irregular migration is a tremendous challenge to all EU member states, it is a very particular challenge to the countries at the outer borders of the EU. Representatives of the Council of Europe as well as from Churches all over Europe shared their profound concerns for the human dignity and human rights of persons in irregular situations.
Representatives of the Greek government and the Council of Europe underlined the important role Churches play in providing assistance for migrants in irregular situations. The General Secretary of CCME, Doris Peschke, stressed that churches and welfare agencies ought not to be criminalized for such assistance.
During its working sessions on the island of Aegina, the assembly discussed and adopted the work programme for CCME for the years 2003-2005. The ambitious work programme prioritises the work on irregular migration as well as on new forms of migration, the development of European Union Migration and Asylum legislation, the struggle against racism, and the networking of initiatives against trafficking in human beings.
CCME will, in the next years, also have a strong focus on initiatives of being church together that is the process in many European countries in which migrants contribute, in different forms, to and influence the church life in their host countries.
The assembly also discussed the process of co-operation between CCME, CEC and WCC and adopted principles for further discussions on a possible merger between CEC and CCME.
[Source: Monitor]
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