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Church in the WorldEU urged to stand firm on treatyEurope 11 June 2005CATHOLIC BISHOPS in Europe are calling on the European Union, ahead of a meeting of the member states? Council in Brussels next week, to be steadfast following the rejection of its constitutional treaty in the Dutch and French referendums. ?We?ll be encouraging the European Council not to consign the European Union and all that it stands for to the doldrums of history, but to . . . take the initiative forward. It would be a real shame if we were all downhearted about this,? said Clare Coffey, a spokeswoman for the Commission of the Bishops? Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). In a statement made after the Dutch referendum, the COMECE Secretary General Noel Treanor said that the two ?no? votes signalled both an ?apprehension? with the socio-economic model of Europe at the moment, and inadequate communication to citizens about the value of the treaty. ?New ways of communicating the purpose of the European project itself and the process of European policy-making will have to be devised,? said Mgr Treanor. ?To be credible and owned by the European citizen, European policymaking has to be clearly rooted in a value system that respects and promotes Europe?s heritage.?
The Secretary General also sounded a warning note on the ?limitless? expansion of the EU, which surveys suggest was a significant reason for the rejections of the treaty. |
 In this week’s issueMaking markets moral Iron and velvet Love in a Catholic climate Someone to talk to A good Lent takes planning South American surprise Can the Church support abuse victims on its own terms? Elena Curti Is the Church too slow in recognising that academies are the future for Catholic schools? Christopher Lamb Goodwin the scapegoat Elena Curti The pain of being a coeliac Catholic Sr M, guest contributor The Church's moral obligation to victims of clerical sexual abuse Speeches from this week's conference in Rome This week in Rome bishops and religious superiors met at the first Vatican-backed symposium devoted to forging a global response to the crisis of clerical sexual abuse that has disgraced ... Archbishop voices 'shame and sorrow' after priest's abuse trial Longley to visit parishes 'damaged' by Walsh Today, Tuesday 7 February, Bede Walsh, who served as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has been convicted by a jury, following a 10-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent ...
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