“Rights and duties of Catholic minorities in the countries of South-east Europe” is the theme of the 10th meeting of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of South-east Europe. The event will be underway from February 25th to 28th in Chişinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, where Catholics represent approximately 1% of the overall population. Nine Bishops’ Conferences will be represented: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, the International Bishops’ Conference of SS Cyril and Methodius, Moldova, Romania and Turkey.“To be a minority church does not mean that we do not enjoy the same rights and do not have the same duties as all the other religions in a given country. The Catholic Church upholds this when she is a minority, but also where she is a majority, because it is a fundamental right. Being a minority often means to be of little relevance, it often means oppression, insufficient human and material resources, indifference and some times disregarded rights. This is true in some cases and there is still a lot to do in order for the Church to enjoy the same rights as other dominant religious institutions in some countries. Nevertheless, this is the goal of our meeting. Our minority churches in many countries of South-east Europe can, must and already do -- as we will have the opportunity to observe in the opinions of participants during the meeting -- contribute to the well-being of the entire nation.” Participants in the event will visit several ecclesial bodies that contribute to the common good of Moldovan society, such as a social pastoral centre which runs a soup-kitchen for poor people, a nursery, as well as a help centre for university students and another for street children who have begun a faith journey, along with victims of people-trafficking.

“Rights and duties of Catholic minorities in the countries of South-east Europe” is the theme of the 10th meeting of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of South-east Europe. The event...leggi tutto