COMMUNION AND SOLIDARITY BETWEEN AFRICA AND, EUROPE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 10, 2004 (VIS) - The first symposium organized by the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) starts this afternoon in Rome at the Salesianum on the theme "Communion and Solidarity between Africa and Europe." Under the patronage of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the conference will end November 13.

  An estimated 150 bishops and representatives of international bodies, and delegates from 62 countries on the two continents are scheduled to participate, as are representatives from seven Vatican offices and delegates from Church organizations in Asia, Latin America and North America.

  Each day offers a theme for the meetings: November 11: Ecclesia in Africa and Ecclesia in Europe: The Situation - The Challenges - The Expectations; November 12: Cooperation between Africa and Europe: Theological Foundations - Prospects - Commitment to a more just and integral society; November 13: Co-responsibility for a renewed Church serving the world: Rise up and let us go.

  A communique on the conference notes that "In the wake of the signing of the European Union Constitution Treaty and while the new Commission is being put together the European Bishops hope that the building of the new Europe will be an experience of communion and solidarity where there will be no room for xenophobia, marginalization and hopelessness."

   "From the other side of the Mediterranean," says the press release, "the African Bishops are concerned by a situation where almost half the population lives below the poverty threshold and more than 140 million people live on incomes that do not allow them to respond constantly to the needs of their own families. Every day thousands of young Africans in despair try to enter Europe, risking their lives. The brain drain of the young continent shows no sign of abating; conflict situations impede lasting development."

  The concluding day will feature Mass at 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica and an audience with the Holy Father at 11:30 a.m.
.../SYMPOSIUM AFRICA EUROPE/CCEE:SECAM        VIS 20041110 (340)