Lille, 08/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - Comece (Commission of the Bishop' Conferences of the European Community) and the Catholic University of Lille organised a seminar on Thursday on the "Challenges for a united Europe", in view of preparing the Catholic Church's stance in the debate on the future of Europe. The main rapporteur was Jacques Delors, who focused his speech on what the objectives and ambitions of European Union enlarged to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe should be. We shall return in full to this entry of Jacques Delors in the European debate, notably in the "A Look Behind the News" section..
Two round tables were then held, one on the Union and its responsibilities at global level (with the participation, notably of Jose Ignacio Salafranca and Michael Weninger, who belong to the group of political advisors to Commission President Romano Prodi), the other on the Union and its citizens, animated by Anne Anderson, Ireland's Permanent Representative to the EU. The Bishop of Hildesheim and President of Comece, Mgr. Josef Homeyer, drew the conclusions.
The outcome of the debates will serve as basis for the stances that Comece intends addressing to the Convention on the future of Europe. The Catholic Church, indeed, intends being heard by the Convention, through the Forum of Civil Society, not only on issues directly relating to religion (like the problem of religious freedom), but also on issues of a general nature, concerning, notably, Europe's responsibility in third world development, globalisation, etc., and on the requirement to provide European construction with an ethical dimension. Jacques Delors stressed that in a secular State the voice of the church must be heard like other voices of civil society.