Den nordiske bispekonferanses pressemelding fra plenarmøtet i Magleås 10.-15. mars

Den nordiske bispekonferanse avholdt den 10.-15. mars sitt plenarmøte i Magleås utenfor København.

Den følgende pressemelding (engelsk) fra de nordiske biskopene ble publisert den 16. mars (se også et norsk sammendrag).

Nordic Bishops Examine Question of "Children in the Street"

Based on the report of a conference in the Vatican on the problems of Children of the street and Children in the Street, the Nordic Bishops decided that the problems of children and young people who feel that they are not welcome at home must take a greater priority in the Pastoral work of the Church. The Bishops were gathered for their half yearly meeting at the Magleås Conference centre of the Diocese of Copenhagen, Denmark. This report will now be submitted to a wide range of agencies in their dioceses. These will be asked to review it in the light of the Bishops' recent Pastoral Letter on the family and their reactions will be collected and lead, it is hoped, to further action by the Bishops. The Bishops are particularly concerned about the plight of children and young people who often in the evenings, at weekends and at holiday times spend much time away from home and their parents, in practice living on the streets.

The Bishops also visited the shrine of St. Knud in Odense where they celebrated Mass with the local Catholic community and were also guests of the local Lutheran Bishop Kresten Dreijergaard who guided them through the Cathedral, and entertained them at his home. The Bishops spent time in a review of the education of priests and deacons. It was decided that a more formal examination will be made of this matter. This will include the form which the presence of the Nordic Churches should take in Rome. Bishop Gijsen of Reykjavik will begin this review.

The catechetical work of the Church and in particular the continuing instruction of adults was studied. This centred particularly on the need of young people and adults making a lasting commitment to their faith. At the next conference experts from the dioceses will be invited to further help the Bishops in this discussion.

The preparations for holding a third European Ecumenical Assembly in Romania in 2007 were discussed. Bishop Georg Müller of Trondheim is responsible for this aspect of the Conference's work The next General Assembly of the Bishops' Conference will be held in Alta, Norway in September 2006, where the Conference will also celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the North Pole Mission.

For more information or other enquiries please contact the local Roman Catholic Bishop or Bishop William Kenney: tel.: +46 (0)70 521 4534.

Melding fra Den nordiske bispekonferanse (17. mars 2006)