Category Archives: News

Africa-Europe

Solidarity in the promotion of human dignity in the light of Fratelli tutti

Final Message of the Participants

Twenty bishops, representing the continental Bishops’ Conferences of Africa and Europe, met online for the seminar organised by the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). CCEE and SECAM, driven by the desire to promote effective pastoral cooperation between the episcopates of the two continents, have been organising symposia and seminars since 2004 in order … Continue reading Solidarity in the promotion of human dignity in the light of Fratelli tutti »

CCEE Presidency

Appeal to Europe for Lebanon

Together with Pope Francis we pray for the gift of peace and stability

Accepting the invitation of Pope Francis to pray for Lebanon, the CCEE Presidency, on behalf of the Bishops throughout the continent, joins “our brothers and sisters of faith and humanity in Lebanon” and invokes the gift of peace and stability together with a renewed commitment to support the Country of the Cedar. Making their own “the requests of the Assembly of Patriarchs and Catholic Bishops … Continue reading Appeal to Europe for Lebanon »

EVS - Vocations Section

The challenges of vocation ministry in Europe in the time of the pandemic

Annual meeting of the directors for vocational pastoral work

The annual conference organised by the European Vocation Service was held on 14 and 15 May. The online mode enabled some fifty delegates from twenty-two European Bishops’ Conferences to attend. The introduction to the work by H. Em. Card. Angelo Bagnasco, CCEE President, renewed the awareness of the uniqueness of each vocation and its singularity in the service of the Church. Father Valdemar Linke, a … Continue reading The challenges of vocation ministry in Europe in the time of the pandemic »

Family and Life Commission

Family: for a pastoral ministry of mission and communion

First online meeting of the Bishops and national delegates

50 participants from 28 European Bishops’ Conferences met online for the meeting of National Directors for Family and Life, organised by the CCEE’s Family and Life Commission. The meeting, which was due to take place in Vilnius in May 2020, but was cancelled due to the pandemic, was opened by greetings from H.E. Msgr Arūnas Poniškaitis, Vice President of the Family and Life Commission and … Continue reading Family: for a pastoral ministry of mission and communion »

European Youth Symposium

Postponed further, Krakow meeting to be held in 2022

Organised by the CCEE Youth Commission and the Archdiocese of Krakow

The current health situation, the persistent difficulty of moving from one country to another as well as social distancing is preventing the smooth development of the Youth Symposium. Initially programmed for 2020 after the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit and in order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Saint John Paul II; then postponed until October 2021 due to the … Continue reading Postponed further, Krakow meeting to be held in 2022 »

Ecumenism

CCEE and CEC celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Charta Œcumenica

Joint Statement from the Presidents

The “Charta Œcumenica – Guidelines for the Growing Cooperation among the Churches in Europe“, signed in 2001 by the presidents of CCEE and CEC, is a fundamental document that seeks to preserve and develop brotherhood between the European churches. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Charta, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), and Rev. Christian Krieger, President of … Continue reading CCEE and CEC celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Charta Œcumenica »

EUROPE

The Prayer of the Church for the Victims of the Pandemic

A Holy Mass of remembrance is celebrated each day during Lent

Throughout Lent, the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe prayed for the victims of the pandemic with a special commemoration during the Eucharistic Celebrations. It was a special way for the Church to show its closeness to the victims and their families, a sign of communion and hope for the entire continent: “We, the Bishops of Europe – stated Cardinal Bagnasco, CCEE President – … Continue reading The Prayer of the Church for the Victims of the Pandemic »

Message from the Presidency

The CCEE celebrates the 50th anniversary of its establishment

And a new logo for this jubilee celebration

Established on 25 March 1971 with the approval of the norms ‘ad experimentum’ by the Congregation for Bishops, and later signed by St Paul VI, the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences “was born under the gaze of the Mother of Christ and of the Church, who would subsequently be venerated as Queen of Europe”. Composed of thirty-nine members, thirty-three of which are national Bishops’ … Continue reading The CCEE celebrates the 50th anniversary of its establishment »

Europe

The Church in Prayer for the Victims of the Pandemic

Each Nation to celebrate the Holy Mass on a day during Lent

From Ash Wednesday, and throughout Lent, the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences throughout our Continent invite us to pray for the victims of the pandemic. On many occasions, the bishops from all over Europe have joined their voice to that of Pope Francis to reiterate the Church’s closeness to all those struggling with the coronavirus: the victims and their families, the sick and the health … Continue reading The Church in Prayer for the Victims of the Pandemic »