ESTAR UNIDOS EN LA DIVERSIDAD

Omella en la CCEE: "Fratelli tutti nos invita a estar unidos en la diversidad"

En el marco de la Asamblea anual Plenaria del Consejo de Conferencias Episcopales de Europa (CCEE), que se lleva a cabo del 23 al 26 de septiembre, nuestro colega Cyprien Viet de la redacción francesa de Vatican News, conversó con el cardenal Omella quien hace hincapié en que la encíclica del Papa Francisco Fratelli tutti' es una clara invitación a hacer de Europa una "familia de familias" y a estar unidos en la diversidad.

 Ciudad del Vaticano

 El presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Española y arzobispo de Barcelona, cardenal Juan José Omella, es uno de los participantes en la Asamblea anual Plenaria del Consejo de Conferencias Episcopales de Europa (CCEE), que se lleva a cabo en Roma del 23 al 26 de septiembre bajo el lema «CCEE, 50 años al servicio de Europa, memoria y perspectivas en el horizonte de Fratelli tutti».

La sesión inaugural se abrió con una celebración eucarística presidida por el Papa Francisco, el 23 de septiembre a las 17: 00 horas. Hoy, viernes 24 de septiembre se desarrolló, por la mañana, la primera sesión de los trabajos en la que intervino el cardenal Angelo Bagnasco, presidente de la CCEE. 

En este contexto, nuestro colega de la redacción francesa de Vatican News, Cyprien Viet, conversó con el purpurado, quien hace hincapié en que la encíclica del Papa Francisco Fratelli tutti' es una clara invitación a hacer de Europa una "familia de familias" y a estar unidos en la diversidad.

Tal como informa el programa de esta iniciativa, el objetivo de la Asamblea es "analizar la situación actual en el continente europeo, además de recordar las raíces de Europa y el compromiso de la Iglesia en la construcción del continente".

Cardenal Omella: La teología y pastoral del Papa se reflejan en la “Iglesia sinodal”

Cabe destacar que el 25 de septiembre, última jornada de los trabajos participará, por la mañana, Antonio Tajani, ex presidente del Parlamento Europeo, con una conferencia bajo el título «Lo que Europa espera de la iglesia: análisis socio político». Por la tarde, se realizarán las intervenciones del cardenal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Presidente de COMECE; Monseñor Aldo Giordano, Nuncio Apostólico en la Unión Europea; y de Monseñor Marco Ganci, Observador Permanente de la Santa Sede ante el Consejo europeo.

El CCEE es organismo de comunión entre las Conferencias Episcopales de Europa, y desde hace 50 años se compromete, según sus estatutos, «al ejercicio de colegialidad en comunión jerárquica cum et sub romano pontífice; a favorecer una cooperación más estrecha entre los obispos y las Conferencias Episcopales con el propósito de promover e inspirar la nueva evangelización; a contribuir al diálogo ecuménico por la unidad de los cristianos; a ofrecer un testigo eclesial a la sociedad europea».

Vatican News

LOVE ALONE SATISFIES THE HUMAN HEART

 Pope at Mass for CCEE jubilee

Pope Francis celebrates Mass with the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, and encourages bishops to reflect on three words as they celebrate their golden jubilee: reflect, rebuild and see.

                                                                                                          By Francesca Merlo

 

In his homily at Mass with the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) on Thursday, Pope Francis reflected on "three words that challenge us as Christians and Bishops in Europe: reflect, rebuild and see."

Bishops from across Europe are in Rome to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the CCEE with a plenary conference on 23-26 September.

Reflect

God, speaking through the Old Testament prophet Haggai, invites us to reflect on how we live our lives, said the Pope: Twice the prophet says to the people: “Reflect on your ways!” ( Hag 1:5.7). 

The Pope noted that those words, 'Reflect on your ways!', are challenging because in Europe today, "we Christians can be tempted to remain comfortably ensconced in our structures, our homes and our churches, in the security provided by our traditions, content with a certain degree of consensus, while all around us churches are emptying and Jesus is increasingly forgotten".

He asked the bishops and all those present to consider "how many people no longer hunger and thirst for God."

This is not because they are evil, he continued, but because there is "no one to awaken in them a hunger for faith and to satisfy that thirst in the human heart". Certainly, we are “preoccupied” by this, but are we really “occupied” with responding to it? asked the Pope.

There is no sense in judging those who do not believe, said the Pope. "Do we feel concern and compassion for those who have not had the joy of encountering Jesus or who have lost that joy?"

Through the prophet Haggai, the Lord asks his people to reflect on another thing, said the Pope, and this is charity. "Lack of charity causes unhappiness, because love alone satisfies the human heart," said the Pope. "The solution to problems and self-absorption is always that of gratuitous gift. There is no other. This is something to reflect on."

Rebuilding

“Build my house”, God says through the prophet (Hag 1:8), and the people rebuild the Temple, said the Pope, introducing the second word: rebuilding.

In order to build the European common house, we must "leave behind short-term expedience and return to the farsighted vision of the founding fathers, a prophetic vision of the whole", he said.

We must begin from the foundations, because that is where rebuilding starts: from the Church’s living tradition, which is based on "what is essential, the Good News, closeness and witness. We need to rebuild from her foundations the Church of every time and place, from worship of God and love of neighbour, and not from our own tastes."

"All rebuilding takes place together, in unity, with others," said the Pope. Rebuilding means becoming artisans of communion, weavers of unity at every level.

See

"If we rebuild in this way, we will enable our brothers and sisters to see," said the Pope. This is the third word: See. 

"So many people in Europe see the faith as déja vu, a relic of the past," said the Pope. This is because they have not seen Jesus at work in their own lives, he explained. Often this is because we, by our lives, have not sufficiently shown Him to them.

"They will not recognize the One who loves each of His sheep, calls them by name, and bears them on His shoulders. They will not see the One whose incredible passion we preach: for it is a consuming passion, a passion for mankind," said the Pope.

This divine, merciful and overpowering love, concluded the Pope "is itself the perennial newness of the Gospel and it demands of us, dear brothers, wise and bold decisions, made in the name of the mad love with which Christ has saved us."

 

Vatican News

 

 

MIGRANTS- THE GIFT OF HOSPITALITY - Redescubrir el don de la hospitalidad - Das Geschenk der Gastfreundschaft wiederentdecken - Redécouvrir le don de l’hospitalité - Riscoprire il dono dell’ospitalità

Rediscovering the Gift of Hospitality

Meeting of bishops and delegates responsible for the pastoral care of migrants of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Europe

Madrid, Spain, 26-27 September 2016

If it is true that people know more and more about the tragedy of thousands of migrants who every day try the challenge of reaching Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea on dilapidated boats and the desert in long marches of death, less known are the stories of generosity, sharing, and genuine reception that accompany the migration flow of recent times. After the urgency of their reception, the Catholic Church is in the front line in emergency related to the integration of thousands of migrants. In Madrid, the bishops and delegates responsible for the pastoral care of migrants in Europe have been discussing on 'models' of integration, best practices, and challenges to European society.

After dealing with the issue of reception in 2015, the national directors for the pastoral care of migrants have focused - in the Year of Mercy - on the challenge of integration. The meeting took place in Madrid on September 26-27 at the invitation of the Bishop of Albacete, Mgr. Ciriaco Benavente Mateos, President of the Commission for Migration of the Spanish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The integration of migrants and refugees is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon for which no single model applies, but different experiences related to the needs and possibilities of the receiving territory. The Catholic Church, as participants witnessed, is engaged in all countries with various activities and programs. However, both reception and integration are not prerogatives of a particular sector of civil society and/or Church institutions, but of the whole society because it is the whole person, in his/her wholeness - that is, the person in need of a job and a house, but also of the love of a family and a spiritual support – who needs to be welcomed. Neither is it an issue which concerns only individual migrants or asylum seekers but it runs on a parallel track that also involves the responsibility and capacity of the receiving community, which is called to make room for diversity.

In her approach, the Church always seeks to promote this two-fold dimension by carrying out a work that takes into account both the needs of immigrants, in their integrity and dignity as persons, and those of the receiving community. Before becoming physical realities, walls rise within human hearts. Ignorance and fear are in fact the first obstacles to overcome. People must be able to understand what it means to be a refugee, what it means to have one's life contained in a simple backpack. It is clear therefore that the real challenge of integration begins with an educational work addressing the whole society. It is necessary to educate people to dialogue and encounter. In fact, the encounter with those who are different than us, if we approach it with the proper disposition, is always enriching and follows the pattern of the sharing of gifts.

This accompaniment of the receiving communities must be carried out in agreement by all the social and Church bodies working on their territory. Only an education to encounter and dialogue will make it possible to uproot unjustified fears, often based on stereotypes and clichés, which are increasingly feeding xenophobic feelings in Europe.

Among the various experiences shared by the participants, the privileged educational-pastoral tool in promoting real integration seemed to be the "working together" style. It is by carrying out together concrete actions and activities that the migrant and the receiving community can be perceived as only one thing. In the spirit of the Year of Mercy, the national directors have also recalled the need to rediscover the meaning and the value of hospitality that helps Christians to better respond to the challenge of integration. In this perspective, the parish is undoubtedly a privileged space in which a true pedagogy of encounter and dialogue can be enacted. In various ways, the parish community can become a place to put into practice our hospitality, a place to perform the exchange of experiences and gifts, the breeding ground for peaceful coexistence that we all desire.

In Madrid, the national directors also discussed some issues which had already been the object of their discussions in the past and are still topical, such as the trafficking in human beings (the work of the Santa Marta Group), the presence of Chinese immigrants in Europe, and the evangelization of Chinese Catholics in Europe.

In the "Holy Mary of Silence" Parish along with a delegation from the local diocese for the pastoral care of migrants, the participants lived a Eucharistic celebration animated by an African choir and presided over by the Archbishop of Madrid, H. Ex. Mgr. Carlos Osoro Sierra. Later on, at the Reception Centre 'San Ignacio' run by the Jesuits they met a large group of young Africans, and they had the opportunity to appreciate the various initiatives undertaken by the Centre for promoting integration, particularly through work and education.

The Conference closed with a meeting with the President of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, at the headquarters of the Catholic Bishops' Conference in Madrid, and a meeting in Toledo – a town which is particularly committed to working with migrants - with the local archbishop, Mgr. Braulio Rodríguez Plaza.

  Media information here (Photos)

  Deutsch, English, Español, Français and Italiano press release

 

CCEE - CEC : TIME FOR CREATION - TEMPO PER LA CREAZIONE

Time for Creation – let’s Pray Together to Appreciate and Care for the Gift of Creation

Tempo per la Creazione - Preghiamo insieme per apprezzare e avere cura del dono della creazione

A common statement of Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), Conference of European Churches (CEC) and European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN)

St. Gallen/Geneva, August 29, 2016

Respect, appreciation and contemplation of Creation are the common concern of Christian Churches. The Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC), on the occasion of the Day for Creation, call for common prayers and to strengthen ecumenical work to care for Creation. 

According to the Gospel, responsibility for the environment can never be detached from responsibility for other human beings: for our neighbour, for the poor, or the forgotten, all in a true spirit of solidarity and love. Respecting Creation means not only protecting and safeguarding the earth, water and other parts of the natural world. It is at the same time expressing respect for human beings who share those gifts and bear responsibility for them. Therefore, together with all Christians, we endeavour joyfully to witness Jesus Christ, «for in Him were created all things in heaven and on earth» (Col. 1, 16).

We remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s thought that the most urgent problem besetting our Churches is the way in which we live our Christian life in the face of contemporary cultural and social challenges. This means we must relate to each other within the context of the world we all live in. This is an original definition of “oikos”, meaning “the house”. The “common house” we care for, is made up of both the natural world and of human relationships.....

TIME FOR CREATION

TEMPO PER LA CREAZIONE