At the invitation of His Grace Mgr Stanisław Gądecki, Archbishop of Poznań, President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference and Vice-president of CCEE, the church body which sees the participation of the Presidents of all the Bishops’ Conferences representing 45 nations of the continent, the annual Plenary Assembly of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) will take place from 13-16 September in Poznań (Poland).
The meeting is taking place in the homeland of the Polish Pope Saint John Paul II, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the recovery of Poland’s independence – the “re-birth” of the Polish State which in the 1700s had been divided into the neighbouring empires; and in Poznań, to celebrate the 1050th anniversary of the first bishopric in Poland in Poznań, the first diocese of modern-day Poland.
This year the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences will focus on the theme of the spirit of solidarity in Europe.
Opening the work in the first session, on the theme “Europe: solidarity in the formation of consciences and society”, will be Fr Wojciech Sadłoń SAC, a member of the Institute for Catholic Church Statistics in Poland, who will present a summary of the survey on voluntary work, promoted by CCEE and undertaken in recent months with the Bishops’ Conferences. The bishops will continue their reflections in study groups and subsequently in the plenary session.
The second day will see the bishops examine in depth the state of solidarity in Europe and the Church’s mission, examining the relationship between the Bishops’ Conferences and the States.
The meeting also envisages a presentation about the work and priorities of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development from the Secretary himself of the Vatican body, Mgr Bruno Marie Duffé; a report from CCEE and a presentation about the activities undertaken and those planned by CCEE’s Commissions.
Testimony to the importance of the Church for Polish society is the presence, at the opening session, of various civil and church authorities, representatives of local and national Government, as well as leaders of other Christian Chuches.
Also participating in some of the meeting on the afternoon of Saturday 15 September will be His Excellency Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland.
The Plenary Assembly will end on Sunday 16 September with the celebration of Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Poznań, with the local community. The Mass will be televised live on TVP3.
Information for the media
1. Full programme and list of participants. The full programme and list of participants will be available shortly before the event on the CCEE website (www.ccee.eu). It is advisable to regularly check the calendar section of the CCEE website.
2. Meeting venue and access. The meeting will take place on 14-15 September at the Poznań Metropolitan Curia (ul. Ostrów Tumski 2) and will be behind closed doors. The opening session on 13 September (from 1600) will take place at the Bazar Poznański (Aleje Marcinkowskiego 10) and is open to accredited journalists, as are the public celebrations as indicated in the programme for the media (see below).
3. Access to the Media Office and accreditation. Access to the Media Office in the Poznań Metropolitan Curia (ul. Ostrów Tumski 3), to the opening session in the Bazar Poznański and to the Masses (if there is a desire to take photographs or filming) is reserved solely for accredited journalists who on arrival will receive a badge guaranteeing access.
For international journalists, accreditation can be requested through the CCEE Media Office (media@ccee.eu).
For Poznań’s local journalists, accreditation can be requested directly via the Media Office of the Archdiocese of Poznań (rzecznik@archpoznan.pl) by 1200 on 11 September
For journalists from elsewhere in Poland, accreditation can be requested directly from the Media Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference (bprasowe@episkopat.pl) no later than 1200 on 11 September.
For the concluding News Conference on 17 September 2018 at 1230 in Warsaw at the offices of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, accreditation can be requested directly from the Media Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference (bprasowe@episkopat.pl) no later than 1200 on 14 September.
4. Photography and filming
Filming and photography in the meeting room and the Churches during the liturgies can be undertaken subject to agreements with the Media Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference (bprasowe@episkopat.pl) or that of the Archdiocese of Poznań (rzecznik@archpoznan.pl), by seeking accreditation (see above)
5. Material available to journalists. In due course accredited journalists will be sent available documentation under embargo.
Photographs. High resolution photographs of the meetimg will be made available free of charge for commercial use or otherwise. Use is allowed subject to appropriate credits being made:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/episkopatnews/albums – © episkopat.pl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/archpoznan – © Archidiecezja Poznańska
Programme for the media
Some elements of the programme open to accredited journalists are available here.
For further information (photos, list of participants…), please visit the website of the Plenary Assembly.
The news release is available in English, French, German and Italian.