RENEWED COMMITTMENT AND EXPECTATIONS: Churches urged to support migrant and other vulnerable minorities

Posted by: "Roma Virtual Network" romale@zahav.net.il valery_novoselsky
Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:13 am (PST)
Churches urged to support migrant and other vulnerable minority communities Ekklesia.co.uk

Delegates at the Third European Ecumenical Assembly meeting in Sibiu, Romania, concluded their weeklong gathering on 9 September 2007 with a call to the churches of Europe to deepen their support for migrants and other victimised minority groups.In a four-page Assembly Message citing 10 recommendations for the future, delegates from Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Free Church traditions urged the continent's churches to focus that care on to the Roma people in particular and to make efforts to "offer better pastoral care for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees".Acknowledging the continuing quest for Christian unity in Europe, the assembly recommended that churches renew their common mission "to proclaim Christ as the Light and the Saviour of the world".

It also encouraged churches to continue dialoguing towards a "mutual recognition of baptism", create more opportunities for common prayer, pilgrimages, theological education and study in support of Christian values, and that churches work towards "the full participation of the whole people of God", including "young people, the elderly, ethnic minorities and disabled people."The assembly reaffirmed the Charta Oecumenica, a set of guidelines agreed in Europe for Christian interaction and cooperation, calling it a "stimulating" resource "for our ecumenical journey in Europe".The assembly exhorted European churches and European institutions to be courageous in addressing the needs of the whole world, while the Message recommended support for the UN's Millennium Development Goals and the creation of a new "consultative process" among church organisations on the European role in addressing ecological justice, human rights and other issues of globalisation.It also recommended the backing of initiatives for debt cancellation and fair trade.

The Third European Ecumenical Assembly - follwing similar events in Basel1989 and Graz 1997 - concluded with a new consensus to set aside the period between 1 September and 4 October on an annual basis to pray for the protection of creation and "the promotion of sustainable lifestyles that reverse our contribution to climate change".

The Third European Ecumenical Assembly Begun in Sibiu Romania

The event is hosted by Romania in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu.

The topics chalanged by more than 2500 official delagates from EUropean Churhces but not only are strucutred in nine Forums:
Forum 1: Unity
Forum 2: Spirituality
Forum 3: Witness
Forum 4: Europe
Forum 5: Religions
Forum 6: Migration
Forum 7: Creation
Forum 8: Justice
Forum 9: Peace

There will be the big challenges towards European policy.

Among the Churhc VIPs we notice the Vatican representative, Cardinal Walter Kasper, Russian Orthodox Church representative, Kirill, bishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad; President of the Foreign Affairs department of the Russian Patriarchy, The melkite Patriarch Gregorios III.

The event will be attended by high European officials including Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the Parliamentary Reunion of the Council of Europe, Rene van der Linden and Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis.

The event is the third of the kind. The first European Ecumenical Assembly took place in 1989 at Bassel, Switzerland and the second, in 1997 at Gratz, Austria.

Magyar Garda established and 56 founders deposed the waws

Although the some voices from Civil Society in Hungary protested much against establisment of this paramilitary organization the Churches paied no attention to it. Church representatives were present, held prayers and blessed the gathering and sanctified the flag of the Magyar Garda. The main purpose of Magyar Garda is the revisitation of Trianon Treaty.

The presence of the clergy at the gathering is the very sign that although their Churches are in states with EU membership church people are still looking behind to the Trianon Treaty.

"Church and the Paramilitary" is not a new fashion in Europe. We have no space here to revisit the issue but there is a lot of documentation on it.

A project targeting Trianon memories was run in the last three years in Romania by Diter Brandes involving Churches, Theological Faculties and researchers. Called Healing of Memories the project is in fact a recovery memento of Trianon Treaty for the new generation, theology students and clegy.

We are going to follow the reaction of Church Institutions to this phenomenon and also see the reation of Jewish Communities in both Hungary and Romania.