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Results of 37th Bishops’ Conference of Europe Made Public at Press Conference
15-07-2009
On July 10, 2009, the first results and the courses of further activity of the 37th Bishops' Conference of Europe working session were announced a press conference. The General Secretary of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe, Fr. Duarte da Cuhna, pointed out that both Ukraine and its church are reviving. "All members of this conference agree. Europe is not and cannot be only beyond you, it is also and primarily in your country. We are happy to welcome this hope and this revival, which with God's Providence, have come true among you," he said.
In his commentary to RISU, Fr. Duarte also assured that the secretaries of the bishop's conferences of different countries that were present at the meeting will become open channels through which the voices and needs of the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine can reach bishops' conferences of their countries.
The participants of the meeting informed the journalists that on the first day of the conference, which took place from July 9 to 13, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) was described in its historical, administrative, and statistic aspects. The presentation was prepared by the scholars of the Ukrainian Catholic University. A description of the history and contemporary Lviv were also presented.
The Secretary of the UGCC Bishops' Synod, Archbishop Bohdan Dziuzakh of UGCC, told the journalists that the main topic of the conference was of priesthood and priestly calling. In this context, the UGCC hopes that the General Secretaries of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe will help find work abroad for Ukrainian married priests; there are many believers abroad where there is no organized structure of the UGCC, in particular in Italy, Spain.
As far as further development of the UGCC structures in the West, the archbishop pointed out that it is out of the sphere of bishops' conference but depends upon the See.
During the press conference with journalists, the participants of the meeting also emphasized the importance of social service of the church.
In particular, the Secretary of the UGCC Bishops' Synod, Archbishop Bohdan Dziurakh, talked about the importance of the social service of the church. "Social issues are very important to us, especially in view of the fact that during the times of communist persecution the church was forbidden to do charitable work. Now, however, the church has begun to fill in those spheres that before were usurped by the state. The church can give much more that bread; it can give love, God's grace, a feeling of closeness to other people in need. That is why this new encyclical letter will be very helpful in many spheres of social service," pointed out the Archbishop.
As far as the relationship of the church and the state is concerned, Fr. Duarte da Cunha, the General Secretary of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe, informed that a plenary meeting of the Presidents of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe will be dedicated to the discussion of this matter. The meeting will be held from October 1-4 in Paris.
"This issue is different in different countries. There are no universal answers. It is important in this context to emphasize the fact that the church and the state are two different structures that have different spheres of activity, but that they intersect in society: both of them have to serve society," commented Fr. Duarte. According to him, it is important to realize that in the relationship of the church and the state, one should not fall either to extreme totalitarianism-when the church is forced to keep silence-or to liberalism-when the church is allowed to have so-called freedom, but in reality is not allowed to express its opinions on various social issues, which concern human beings. "When one states that religion is a private business, not public, we Catholics, like, I think, representatives of all religions, disagree and convincingly argue that religion influences social life and must have its place in the social life of a human being."
http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;30134/
