SAINT-SIÈGE

Distribution électronique des informations de la Salle de Presse

La période d'expérimentation du projet pilote consistant à diffuser le Bollettino della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede par distribution électronique, à travers la Ge.is -General Electric Information Services - commencée en novembre 1995, s'est positivement conclue à la fin du mois de mars dernier.

Les observations envoyées par les usagers à la Salle de Presse confortent les responsables de ce service dans leur initiative considérée comme utile et de bonne qualité. La Salle de Presse propose donc ce service télématique à tous les journalistes accrédités et aux organisations qui reçoivent déjà le Bollettino sous forme imprimée.

Le 1er mai 1996, la Salle de Presse a inauguré le service sous abonnement, aux conditions proposées par la Ge.is qui conclura un contrat avec chaque usager et facturera une somme forfaitaire de 1.300.000 lires italiennes par an, couvrant un volume de 1.100.000 caractères reçus par mois. L'éventuel dépassement de ce volume de caractères mensuels sera facturé 140 lires italiennes pour 1.000 caractères.

Le nécessaire software Bnet en version Dos, Windows ou Macintosh à installer sur l'ordinateur personnel pour pouvoir utiliser ce service d'information, sera fourni au prix de 300.000 lires italiennes l'unité. L'assistance téléphonique pour la solution d'éventuels problèmes de fonctionnement du software ou de la transmission sera gratuite, tandis que l'ensemble des autres services d'assistance feront l'objet d'un traitement particulier.

Le texte du Bollettino qui continuera à paraître sous forme imprimée, restera en mémoire sur le tableau électronique de la Ge.is pendant sept jours. L'accès est garanti 24 heures sur 24, pendant toute l'année.

Qui a l'intention d'utiliser le service télématique Ge.is peut s'adresser directement à la Direzione, Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Télécopie: (06) 69.88.51.78; ou à: Ing. Roberto Laurenzi, Direzione Commerciale Ge.is, Via Vivaldi 9, 00199 Roma, Télécopie: (06) 86.21.79.09.

Consulter la collection de L'Osservatore Romano de 1861 à nos jours

L'accès à l'ensemble de la collection de L'Osservatore Romano sur microfilm, la possibilité de recherches sur ordinateur pour les numéros postérieurs au 1er juillet 1991, le transfert des informations sur disquette, voilà certaines des initiatives les plus significatives prises par les archives de L'Osservatore Romano.

L'informatisation du journal a entraîné un profond bouleversement dans la gestion des informations. Les premiers utilisateurs naturels des archives, que sont les rédacteurs, peuvent maintenant compter sur une recherche accélérée des informations concernant les cinq dernières années. Les recherches croisées sont désormais possibles à partir du titre, de l'auteur, d'un extrait du discours ou de l'article, d'une oeuvre citée dans le texte, et même à partir d'un seul mot. Les archives électroniques comprennent, outre le quotidien, le supplément du dimanche, les éditions hebdomadaires en italien, anglais, allemand, français, espagnol, portugais, et l'édition mensuelle en polonais. Chaque numéro du quotidien et des éditions périodiques est archivé avec un numéro qui permet d'en copier le contenu sur des disquettes consultables moyennant un simple ordinateur.

Ces innovations, surtout la dernière, facilitent les recherches et les travaux de dizaines d'historiens, de chercheurs et de journalistes qui, chaque jour, s'adressent aux archives de L'Osservatore Romano afin d'en obtenir des informations concernant la vie du journal, ses positions sur les sujets les plus divers et sur un laps de temps qui dépasse 135 ans. La collection microfilmée de l'édition quotidienne depuis 1861 et de l'édition en anglais depuis 1968 est accompagnée des années 1849-1850 de L'Osservatore Romano dirigé par l'Abbé Battelli et de l'année 1849 du journal Il Costituzionale Romano, qui sont comme les deux ancêtres immédiats de l'actuel Osservatore Romano.

Grâce à la lectrice de microfilm Bell and Howell ABR2700, il est non seulement possible de lire l'article recherché, mais encore d'en obtenir des photocopies de différents formats, soit de pages entières soit de parties. Les archives de L'Osservatore Romano ne sont pas ouvertes au public. Par conséquent, il faut adresser les demandes à: Archivio de «L'Osservatore Romano», 00120 Città del Vaticano, Télécopie: (06) 69.88.36.75. Les responsables du service des archives répondent aux demandes sous 48 heures et pourvoient à l'expédition des documents demandés, à des prix modiques.

Dans le but de répondre aux nouvelles exigences de consultation, les archives de L'Osservatore Romano ont été transférées dans des locaux proches de la bibliothèque du journal, qui conserve une collection reliée complète du quotidien.

Grâce à ces améliorations et surtout au service d'accès à plus de 135 années d'informations, L'Osservatore Romano s'apprête à répondre aux attentes d'un nombre croissant de lecteurs réguliers et de chercheurs.

(Cf. L'Osservatore Romano, 16 marzo 1996, p. 4, article de G. Fiorentino)

FOI ET CULTURE

Ouverture d'un Musée d'Art Sacré à Pont-Saint-Esprit (Gard - France)

Le constat n'est pas nouveau, mais aujourd'hui il se fait plus sévère et surtout plus pressant: l'ignorance de la culture religieuse est un obstacle infranchissable à la connaissance et à la compréhension des oeuvres majeures du patrimoine culturel. Dans le cadre médiéval de la Maison des Chevaliers, à Pont-Saint-Esprit, dans le département du Gard, un nouveau musée d'art sacré se propose de relever le défi.

La foi chrétienne est la trame de la culture européenne, et l'art sacré en est une composante majeure. Il n'est pas acceptable qu'une conception erronée de la laïcité exclue le religieux de la vie publique et débouche sur un vide culturel. Le musée de Pont-Saint-Esprit a le mérite de proposer aux visiteurs de déchiffrer le sens des objets exposés et d'en expliquer l'usage cultuel, car avant d'être des pièces de valeur culturelle, ce sont des objets fonctionnels du culte.

(Musée d'Art Sacré du Gard, Maison des Chevaliers, 2, rue Saint-Jacques, Pont-Saint-Esprit)

Naissance du groupe «Croyances et Cultures» à Nice

À la demande de Monseigneur Saint Macary, évêque de Nice, le groupe Croyances et Cultures a vu le jour, réunissant des représentants, amateurs ou professionnels, de domaines très variés: livre, enseignement, théâtre, musique, photographie, peinture, cinéma, animation culturelle.

Une conviction unanimement partagée anime le groupe: tous ont droit d'accéder aux activités de Croyances et Cultures, car tous sont porteurs de valeurs culturelles, si la culture est vraiment un «art de vivre». Les questions abordées mettent en lumière les grands défis de la nouvelle évangélisation: en quoi la culture contemporaine interpelle-t-elle la parole et la conduite de l'Église? Réciproquement, en quoi l'Évangile interpelle-t-il les expressions culturelles d'aujourd'hui?

Depuis trois ans, Croyances et Cultures se réunit environ 5 fois par année et propose une fois par an une soirée publique dont chacune jusqu'ici a connu un franc succès. Ce groupe est un point de référence et un lieu de confrontation. «Il est ainsi manifesté que lorsque des hommes créent, s'expriment sur le sens de la vie, sur les drames et les joies, sur les liens qui se tissent, les chercheurs de Dieu que nous sommes sont partie prenante: "Les joies et les espoirs, les tristesses et les angoisses des hommes de ce temps... sont aussi ceux des disciples du Christ" (Gaudium et Spes, 1)"». (Cf. SNOP, n. 980, 9 février 1996, p. 3).

UNESCO

Une étude des Organisations Non-Gouvernementales (ONG) sur la Femme

La contribution spécifique du groupe de travail «Culture et Développement» aux efforts de la communauté internationale pour un développement humain durable est fondée sur le développement culturel, chemin de la lutte contre la grande pauvreté, sur la participation des plus pauvres aux processus de développement les concernant. Malgré leurs souffrances physiques ou morales, les femmes apparaissent dans le monde et surtout dans les régions les plus défavorisées, comme les éléments les plus dynamiques, les plus solidaires dans la lutte pour la survie de leurs enfants et de leurs communautés. En dépit de leur fragilité, elles maintiennent les liens familiaux, tentent d'assumer l'ensemble des fonctions de la famille, affectives, sanitaires, éducatives, sociales et culturelles. En milieux défavorisés, les femmes prennent les initiatives concrètes, fondamentales, qui mettent en lumière l'importance de la tradition de la culture dans la survie d'un peuple.

Le groupe de travail «Environnement et de Développement» regroupant les ONG spécialisées dans la défense et la promotion de l'environnement naturel, fonde son action sur ces principes-clés: le développement durable est impossible s'il implique une détérioration de l'environnement. Le droit au développement et à un environnement sain n'est pas limité au présent, il impose des devoirs vis-à-vis des générations futures. L'élimination de la pauvreté exige une amélioration de l'environnement physique, mais aussi une amélioration culturelle, scolaire, sanitaire et sociale. Les femmes souhaitent être associées, à part entière, dans les processus d'aménagement de leur environnement.

Le groupe de travail «Femmes et Famille» souligne la place essentielle de la femme dans la famille, première cellule d'accueil et de croissance de toute personne humaine. L'amélioration de la condition de la femme dans la société favorise le bon fonctionnement de la famille, sa capacité à déployer ses ressources et à assumer ses responsabilités éducatives et culturelles pour le développement des personnes et de la communauté. La famille a un rôle déterminant dans la reconnaissance de l'égale dignité de la femme et de l'homme, de la parité de leurs droits, de leur égale capacité à s'investir dans le progrès social. Les pratiques que la famille institue en son sein et l'éducation informelle qu'elle dispense, influencent fortement les comportements culturels, sociaux et économiques vis-à-vis de la femme. (Cf. OIEC, L'éducation catholique au service de l'homme dans les cultures du monde, n. 11, 1995).

CONSEIL DE L'EUROPE

La politique culturelle de la Russie

Lors de la réunion du Comité de la Culture du Conseil de l'Europe, les 13-15 mai 1996, à Strasbourg, le Gouvernement de la Fédération de Russie a présenté un intéressant panorama de la politique culturelle de son pays. Le Ministre Evgeny Sidorov, faisant référence au Baptême de la Rus de Kiev, le définit comme l'ouverture des peuples slaves au monde chrétien. Depuis ce baptême, la Russie a été le théâtre d'une continuelle interaction entre la culture russe et les cultures des autres pays européens, mais aussi de la Chine. C'est grâce au christianisme - les spécialistes le savent - qu'a cependant prévalu en Russie le modèle culturel européen.

L'État joue toujours un rôle de premier plan en Russie, même si aujourd'hui se diffuse la conviction d'une nécessaire coopération culturelle entre les régions. Pour l'avenir, toujours incertain, le Ministre Sidorov évoque trois solutions possibles:

1. Une centralisation étatique favorable au patrimoine et à l'art classique national;

2. Une intégration de la Russie dans les systèmes culturels et économiques suivant le modèle américain ou japonais. La Russie deviendrait une province dans un monde indifférencié, entièrement orienté vers la commercialisation de la culture.

3. Une intégration comme partenaire à plein titre de la culture européenne et mondiale.

Si la troisième solution semble la meilleure, c'est aussi, selon le Ministre Sidorov, la plus improbable. Citant le Président Eltsin à la Douma: «La politique culturelle doit viser la personne humaine et l'organisation de ses conditions de vie», il souligne la nécessité de faire entrer les données culturelles russes dans le grand circuit des réseaux culturels mondiaux.

Pays immense, varié et riche, la Russie doit relever ce défi: gérer la diversité malgré l'influence durable du système soviétique. Sans nul doute, une transition psychologique et culturelle est nécessaire à une vraie transition politique du pays. À l'heure actuelle, les difficultés qui transforment la vie quotidienne en une lutte pour la survie, ne favorisent pas l'éclosion d'une vie culturelle renouvelée. Le pays jouit d'atouts non négligeables sur le plan culturel: richesse et diversité culturelles, réseau culturel mis en place par le système soviétique, bon niveau de formation du personnel culturel, créativité artistique renouvelée, liberté d'expression, existence d'une administration culturelle efficiente. Toutefois, ces atouts sont plus actuellement des potentialités que des moteurs en mouvement. Une chose est certaine: la politique culturelle de la Russie sera décisive pour l'issue de la transition politique dans laquelle actuellement le pays navigue à vue, car la culture n'est pas seulement un secteur du développement, c'en est une dimension fondamentale, qui permet de découvrir des valeurs nouvelles et de nouveaux repères.

En réalité, il s'agit de conjuguer la reprise culturelle de la Russie et son entrée dans les échanges internationaux qui supposent l'égalité des partenaires. Le Ministère de la Culture se propose d'aider chaque région à devenir autonome dans sa politique culturelle locale, pour que la culture soit toujours plus proche de l'homme qui en est la source et le premier destinataire. Parmi les problèmes les plus urgents à résoudre, celui de la situation économique des artistes, autrefois à la solde du Gouvernement, demeure l'un des défis à relever.

PARLEMENT EUROPÉEN

Le Programme Raphaël: sauvegarder et promouvoir le patrimoine culturel européen

«Si nous faisions aujourd'hui le bilan de notre patrimoine spirituel, il s'avérerait que la plus grande partie ne vient pas de notre patrie respective, mais du fonds européen commun. En nous tous, l'Européen prime de loin l'Allemand, l'Espagnol, le Français. Les quatre cinquième de notre richesse intérieure sont constitués par un patrimoine européen commun». Lentement, la Communauté Européenne a pris conscience, au fil des années, de l'importance de la culture dans la construction de l'Europe. Aujourd'hui l'Union Européenne renforce cette orientation avec le programme ARIANE pour le soutien à la création artistique, et le programme KALÉIDOSCOPE 2000 visant à appuyer les activités artistiques et culturelles de dimension européenne. Le programme RAPHAËL vise spécialement le patrimoine européen.

À vrai dire, le programme doit encore être affiné pour devenir vraiment opérationnel, non seulement en décernant un label européen, mais en réalisant le premier inventaire du patrimoine immobilier européen. Ce programme souligne les aspects socio-économiques du patrimoine susceptible de créer des emplois nouveaux pour la restauration et l'entretien, tout en favorisant le tourisme culturel et son environnement. Le Parlement européen insiste beaucoup sur les potentialités du patrimoine pour rassembler et unir les peuples, et sur un accès toujours plus large à cette richesse commune. Pour cette raison, il demande que le budget de RAPHAËL, limité à 67 millions d'écus pour la période 1996-2000, soit considérablement augmenté. Il s'agit là d'un véritable défi, car la part du budget communautaire allant directement à la culture continue à se chiffrer seulement à 0,014% du budget communautaire.

Conscient du rôle que peut jouer ce patrimoine commun, le Parlement européen a tenu à insister sur la sensibilisation des jeunes aux problèmes du patrimoine. Il est urgent d'inclure dans les programmes scolaires la sensibilisation aux questions culturelles et au respect de la diversité culturelle. À cet effet, l'utilisation accrue des nouvelles technologies faisant appel à l'image virtuelle peut jouer un rôle déterminant. Cette promotion du patrimoine aura de nombreuses répercussions dans le secteur des métiers artisanaux, et des métiers d'art. La formation de ces professionnels est particulièrement importante, mais elle n'est clairement définie dans aucun des États membres de l'Union. Le Parlement européen souhaite la mise en place d'une formation de pointe dans tous les métiers liés au patrimoine, et invite à faire appel aux historiens de l'art, aux conservateurs, aux guides, aux gestionnaires spécialisés et à tous ceux qui, de près ou de loin, sont susceptibles de participer à la publication d'une documentation audiovisuelle ou imprimée sur les différents aspects du patrimoine européen.

CONGRESS ON FAITH AND CULTURE IN ASIA

"The Dialogue Between Faith and Culture in Asia: Towards Integral Human and Social Development" was the theme of the Convention (10-14 January, 1996) hosted by the University of Santo Tomás in collaboration with the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences - Office of Education and Student Chaplaincy (FABC-OESC), the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Institute of Pastoral Development, the Council of the Laity of the Philippines, the Focolare Movement, Human Life International and the Asian Social Institute.

The Keynote Address (for complete text cfr. Cultures and Faith 4 [1996/1] 4-13) was delivered by His Eminence, Paul Cardinal Poupard, President, Pontifical Council of Culture, Vatican City. In his address Cardinal Poupard expressed the firm conviction that Faith and Culture need to dialogue because, as he pointed out, quoting Pope John Paul II, "The synthesis between culture and faith is not only a demand of culture but also of faith because a faith that does not become culture is not fully accepted, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived." Dialogue demands the difficult discipline of listening with the heart - which calls for compassion, criticism, challenge and even confrontation. This was followed by a talk on Primal Religion by Fr. Jesus Merino OP who reflected on indigenous Asian culture and animism.

On the second day, Dr. Alexander Balitsky, an expert on studies in culture in Far East Russia and the Pacific Rim, spoke on the transcendent dimension of faith and cultures as lived by different peoples in Asia. Buddhist Culture and its Social implications, which was the next topic presented, gave the audience an insight into and an understanding of the suffering brought about by war, poverty or ignorance and the means to meet its challenge. Buddhism also has a social dimension which makes its members reach out in service to the suffering and the needy.

The third day was devoted to Taoist Culture and its Social Implications and was dealt with by Fr. Joseph Shih SJ. While Confucianism contains philosophical principles adhered to by most Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and others, Taoism serves as its spiritual foundation. Dr. Pushparajan presented a paper on Hindu Culture and its Social Implications. Humanity had ravaged and exploited creation almost to the point of destroying it. This had adversely affected the well being of all nations. Reverence for all forms of life is a condition for social betterment. Hindu culture, he concluded, provides a ground for creational harmony.

On the fourth day Dr. Nagasura Madale and Atty. Macapanton Abbas spoke on Islamic Culture and its Social Implications. The adherents of both Christianity and Islam can work together on international issues that have deep social implications such as respect for life. Collaboration is the need of the hour. Mr. Augustine Loorthusamy and Atty. Brian Scarnecchia dealt with Law, Media and Youth Culture which described how the fragile personality of young people today is being exploited by the wrong use of the media. He also underlined how to promote the right use of the media to safeguard youth from dehumanizing culture.

The fifth and final day of the Convention was devoted to Respect for Life and Human Dignity which underscored the teaching of Evangelium vitae. In his homily at the concluding Eucharist Cardinal Poupard spoke of the need to assume and redeem culture and summarised the principal findings of the Convention by stating that there is need today for Christians to witness to an authentic Christian Life; this witnessing must be integral in as much as it embraces the whole of life; the means to this integration is dialogue; and evangelization must accompany dialogue for while we need to learn from others, we also need to proclaim the treasures of our own faith.

What marked the Convention was a spirit of respect, collaboration and cordiality. The Rector and the Staff and Students of the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas did an excellent job in looking after the many details that go into the organisation and execution of an international Convention of this magnitude. All said and done, the Convention was indeed a memorable experience!

We append below the Concluding Message that was issued by the participants of this Convention to their fellow Christians in Asia.

Final Document: "Dialogue between Faith and Cultures in Asia: Towards Integral Human and Social Development". A Message to Our Fellow Christians in Asia

A. FAITH AND CULTURE

1. On 10-14 January 1996, over 100 participants from Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, U.S.A., the Vatican and the Philippines gathered at the University of Santo Tomás in Manila, Philippines, for the colloquium: "Dialogue between Faith and Cultures in Asia: Towards Integral Human and Social Development". The Colloquium was organized by UST Centre for Intercultural Studies, the Office of Education and Student Chaplaincy of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC-OESC), in cooperation with the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Council of the Laity of the Philippines, the Institute for Pastoral Development, the Focolare Movement, the Asian Social Institute, and Human Life International.

2. We experienced the meeting of two mysteries: the divine and the human. The mystery of the divine is a common human quest for the Infinite, the Absolute, that which goes beyond transient and contingent human events and realities, yet permeates every form of existence. The mystery of the human is discovered in the multiplicity of cultures by which people express their lives, hopes, and fears. Religion, providing that contact of the human with the Divine, is the soul of culture.

B. ASIAN CULTURES

3. God speaks to people through their cultures and sows the "seeds of His Word" (Ad gentes, 11) in every human culture, because God wants all people to be saved. For this reason, Christians should be in dialogue with their own cultures in order to discover the seeds of the Divine Message planted there which take root, grow and bear fruit. By coming into dialogue with the cultures of others, Christians are challenged to expand their horizons, re-examine prejudices and preconceptions, and learn to respect others and ways of living different from their own. In this cultural dialogue, they will often find themselves challenged by the perceptions, commitment, and lived values of their neighbours of other faiths. They can come to a deeper understanding of their own faith through a dialogue with the religions and cultures in which they live.

4. Christians are persons rooted in particular cultures who discover in Jesus Christ the way, the truth, and the life. Often the Gospel vision affirms and confirms what is found in the cultures in which Christians live and work. On the one hand, they are called to preserve and defend cultural values. On the other hand, the Gospel critically challenges cultures. Christians must learn to discern the good, true, and beautiful, which they seek to support and integrate into their lives, from values that must be transformed or even rejected. In this way, cultures are evangelized, always respecting the freedom and dignity of each person.

5. In this colloquium, scholars were invited to provide input on the contribution of various religions to Asian societies. The participants shared their reflections on the input in workshop sessions.

C. ASIAN RELIGIONS

As Christians, we must dialogue with people of all religions in Asia.

6. Beginning with a presentation of primal religion, we realized that deep down in every human person is that openness to the Sacred which expresses itself in a variety of forms of worship and ways of life.

7. Buddhism presents a view of life where the pain and suffering of humans on this earth is due to a person's own selfish desires. Buddhism was presented in its living witness to faith in the compassionate Buddha. This was exemplified in the colloquium in the work carried out by the Tzu-Chi Foundation, which engages in charitable, medical and educational works.

8. Taoism, which comes from the word "Tao" (meaning the Way), opens to the invisible and recognizes its superiority to the material world. Chinese culture is rooted in Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Shamanism, and Ancestor Worship, etc.

9. The Confucian tradition has a vision of life as unfolding rather than as dominating nature. It emphasizes the maximum perfectibility of the human person by the Jen or love. This is the basis for re-humanizing science and democracy with ethical and spiritual values.

10. Hindu culture has a basic philosophy which sees the one ultimate divinity as expressed in diverse beings (inanimate, plants, animals, humans). They are One-in-many. This calls for reverence for the entire Cosmos and is the basis of eco-friendly development and respect for Creation. Therefore, it promotes justice, integral development, and peace.

11. Islam is based on the revelation of the Holy Qur'an and Hadith (the tradition of the prophet Muhammad), which teaches that God is one and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is God's messenger. Faith in God's oneness implies being one within our own self; unity of mind and heart, of words and deeds. This leads to unity with others of different races, languages, creeds and castes. There is no separation of faith from morals, and morals from politics and economics. God's greatness and transcendence is stressed in Islam and God's nearness "is closer to humans than their jugular vein" (Holy Qur'an, Surah 50, Ayat 16).

D. DIALOGUE WITH OTHER RELIGIONS

12. Each culture provides the context for understanding reality and for expressing religious faith and a comprehensive way to live and to organize social relations. Dialogue provides an opportunity to learn positive elements in other religions, and also to share the Good News of Christ about God, man and nature. Our own assumptions could also be challenged when confronted with the alternatives provided by other religions.

13. Those engaged in dialogue must realize that religious faith is not static, but dynamic and evolving towards divine fullness.

14. It is necessary to be firmly rooted in our own religion but also to remain open to other religions. We need to respect the deep spiritual patrimony of different faiths and cultures and, at the same time, to share our own Christian heritage with others. Christian faith offers significant insights in three areas of particular importance in the Asian context: human life and the family, ecology and environment, and the promotion of the culture of peace.

15. In dialogue, we must avoid the twofold danger of arrogance, on the one hand, and naiveté and false irenicism, on the other. We must move from the merely rational and theological speculation to affective and experiential human elements that unite us, i.e., from the head to the heart.

16. Working together on projects for development provides a platform for fruitful dialogue between peoples of different faiths and cultures. People of all faiths can face in union challenges like ecological disasters and the erosion of common human values.

E. POINTS OF CONVERGENCE

17. It became evident during the colloquium that many things are common to all religions, such as respect for life and creation, and the need to build a common human community.

18. We agreed that interreligious dialogue will promote links between family and life, ecology and environment, peace and justice. It will also help us to combat the erosion of traditional values through the influence of mass media.

19. It was a point of consensus that our youth, who form a sizable majority of our Christian population, should be introduced to interreligious dialogue. They must be taught to recognize and respect the values enshrined in other religions and to appreciate their own faith vis-à-vis other religions.

20. Recognition of a higher moral law which rests upon God may prove to be a point of integration of faith and Asian culture and be fruitful for interreligious dialogue.

21. Although all religions stress respect for them, women are deprived of their dignity due to different forms of social discrimination. Interreligious and intercultural dialogue have an important role in building a better place in society for women so that they can live as human beings in full dignity.

F. RECOMMENDATIONS

Four groups of proposals emerged which are as wide as our faith is Catholic.

Witnessing to our Faith

22. Dialogue presents opportunity both to listen to people of other faiths as well as to share our own heritage with others. We must be prepared to answer God's call to give witness to our faith in Christ, and proclaim the Gospel of life in response to the Holy Father's call. Everyone can give witness, even little children if properly trained.

Integral Formation for Dialogue

23. Dialogue requires openness to the immanent and transcendent which is difficult because of modern global culture which acts without any reference to God. We must not be afraid of using other means of relating to the Divine and accompanying others in their way of knowing God. In Asia, God should be seen with an Asian rather than a Western face.

24. Dialogue also requires openness to people of other faiths and cultures, castes and creeds. When we reach out to love and trust others, God in us gives to God in them. By listening to peoples of other faiths and cultures, we may deepen our own and discover elements common to both. The deeper we go into dialogue, the closer we come to God, to others and to the whole of creation. Creation-centered theology promotes this.

25. Dialogue should be fostered at all levels: the family, grassroots ecclesial communities, school, youth groups, and seminaries and religious formation houses. The most basic dialogue is the dialogue of heart and soul. This leads to dialogue of life and joint action to tackle social evils.

26. We should become more aware of the extent to which we have become victims of the global media culture. Cultural colonialism can be overcome by good use of the media. We need to be educated today to evaluate critically the impact of media. This should be part of the curriculum from grade school to university. We should encourage people to enter the field of mass media to promote traditional values enshrined in all Asian cultures.

27. We should work to promote respect for life and human dignity. This is a common task for all the peoples of Asia, to be done in solidarity with their brothers and sisters throughout the world, because the first and basic human good is life.

Dialogue of Life through Joint Action

28. We should promote self-sufficiency by tapping the inner resources of our own culture. This will enable us to conduct a dialogue of life with those among whom we live and work.

29. Dialogue should lead to the transformation of self and society. But we should go beyond tolerance and mutual respect and reach out in concerted action to correct social evils such as corruption in society, globalization which marginalizes the majority by enriching a tiny elite, apathy towards the poor and suffering, the interrelated evils of consumerism, secularism, and violence and terrorism, false values of the media, immoral methods of population control, environmental degradation, and so on.

30. Going beyond mere charitable and relief work to the root causes of poverty, we should work with peoples of all faiths for balanced and integral human development. This requires that all should adopt an alternate, simple lifestyle.

Evangelization

31. We must make every effort to share the treasures of our faith with all our Asian brothers and sisters. It is their right to hear the Good News of God's love for them and our duty to proclaim it by our lives and works. Even in the most distressing situations of violence and terrorism, of oppression and injustice, we can evangelize, if by no other means, then by our tears and fellowship.

CONCLUSION

32. To ensure that integral human and social development will take place, interreligious dialogue should be fostered at all levels - family, communities, bishops, priests, religious, laity and various cultural groups. Dialogue can promote an awareness of the living presence of God in all creation and among humankind, and it can help us to grow in this awareness so that it can truly influence our lives.

33. Dialogue enables us to deepen our cultural roots and bear more authentic witness to our faith. We will thus be able to integrate our Christian values into cultures and thus present an indigenous and acceptable witness to our people.

34. As we approach the third millennium, we turn to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and pray that she assist us to carry out this dialogue with the religions and cultures of Asia, in order to form a new humanity where all will live in harmony and peace.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA - A SYMPOSIUM

In Cultures and Faith 2 (1994/2) 148-149, it was reported that Father Michael Paul Gallagher had represented the Pontifical Council for Culture at a symposium in February that year on "The Future of Religious Studies in Ethiopia and Eritrea", organized by the Capuchin Franciscan Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Addis Ababa, where it was held. The most recent edition of the Institute's Ethiopian Review of Cultures is a double issue devoted entirely to the proceedings of the symposium.

The Institute's rector, Abba Musié Ghebreghiorgis, OFM Cap, spoke in his introduction to the symposium of the richness of Ethiopian and Eritrean Christian culture and the need for those who work in that region to know it, understand it and respect it. The war had only recently ended, and this was the first gathering of the three major seminaries of Addi Grat, Addis Ababa and Asmara: both signs of the sensitivity the symposium was meant to foster.

Father Gallagher's keynote address had three strands: firstly, he dealt with the term culture, in its classical sense, in its more recent use in describing "historically and socially embodied ways of life", and in the remarkably synthetic sense of the term as it was used in Gaudium et Spes, as well as more recent official statements of the Church. The second theme - inculturation - goes right to the heart of the symposium. Father Gallagher gathers texts which illustrate the openness advised by Propaganda Fide in 1659, and contemporary understandings of "the living exchange... at the heart of any genuine inculturation". The third part points towards some guiding principles set out in various Church documents, above all Pastores dabo vobis and the November 1993 Directives concerning the preparation of Seminary Educators. There is clearly a developing consciousness of the nature of and need for genuine inculturation and openness of spirit, especially in those whose work is the formation of priests. These new ministers of faith will need balance and wisdom, to be able to learn by listening; those who form them need time, theological clarity and spiritual discernment. This stimulating talk is enhanced in its written form by an appendix of very useful texts and a helpfully brief bibliography.

There followed a very varied programme of talks on Canon Law, Liturgy, Biblical Studies (including a talk on Andemta commentary as a part of Ethiopian culture and education), Spirituality, Church History, Bahre Hasab (an Amharic term denoting a local form of calendar calculation), Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology, Christology, Sociology and Philosophy. The symposium secretary, Sister Ida GRASSO, FMA, managed to squeeze a synthesis of all of this into six pages! The Rector's concluding remarks include thanks to a list of people which reflects the cultural, national and religious variety of those who had taken part in what appears to have been a very demanding week.

As a postscript, this was quite an achievement for the Capuchin Franciscan Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Addis Ababa. There were speakers from Belgium, Naples and the Vatican, and the Apostolic Nuncio and the visiting Rector Major of the Salesians were also present. It is worth remembering that the symposium took place less than a year after Eritrean independence was established. Furthermore, the Catholic population is less than 1% in Ethiopia, where the majority Christian presence is Orthodox; Muslims account for 35% and are on the increase. But the Catholic Church is known to be outstanding in health care, education and commitment to the deprived. It is accepted and respected as an institution which has much to offer. Any advance in cultural understanding clearly has ecumenical implications. In February 1996, the same Institute hosted a 4/5-day meeting at the Holy Saviour Parish Hall to offer a response from Ethiopia to the preparatory questionnaire for the Pontifical Council for Culture's 1997 Plenary Assembly. The organizers have sent some of the 16 talks (plus a synthesis) to the Pontifical Council's office in Rome, and some of these are published in this issue of Cultures and Faith.

THE PAX ROMANA SCIENCE SECRETARIAT (SIQS)

Science affects our twentieth century culture in many ways. Most fundamentally, it affects the way we think about the world and our place and destiny within it. We are now aware that we are living on a relatively small blue ball poised in the vastness of space, circling around our splendid sun, which is in fact a rather ordinary star on an outer arm of a vast galaxy of billions of stars, and that this galaxy is one of billions of such galaxies in the whole universe. This is the cosmic background against which the drama of our Salvation is played. It can induce some humility, as we ask: "What is man, that You are mindful of him?". In the background is another question: "Is it really very likely that the Creator of the whole immense universe would become man on that insignificant blue ball?". The mental background to our thoughts is provided by modern cosmology, not by the cosy earth-centred views of the Hebrews and the Greeks that underlie the Old and New Testaments.

On a more direct but less fundamental level, science affects our lives through all the technological advances that it has made possible. Some of them, such as those concerning travel and communication, simply allow us to go on doing what we have already been doing, but more rapidly and efficiently. Others, particularly in the medical field, open up quite new possibilities that often have serious moral dimensions.

Within this modern scientific world view many activities, such as praying for rain, can look ridiculous. Do we really believe that God, in response to our prayers, will start moving the atmosphere around to give the result we want? In the same context, many of the Bible stories are simply unacceptable, and so-called miracles just cannot happen. If young people are brought up believing that the biblical story of the creation of the world in six days is literally true then, when they learn about the scientific account, they reject the Bible as naive and false. Einstein in his autobiography recalled that he abandoned his early religious beliefs at about the age of 12 when he realised that many of the stories in the Bible could not be true. The Abbé Michonneau, a worker priest, found that the apparent conflict between the scientific experience and the six-day creation story was more effective in alienating the working classes from the Church than glaring social injustices.

Scientific culture thus exerts a powerful influence on young and impressionable minds, and gradually they drift away from the Church. What they need is a clear and convincing exposition of the Faith that takes full account of the latest scientific advances, and this can only be done by one who is familiar with both. It is a difficult task because to resolve and answer the difficulties mentioned above, and many others, requires many careful distinctions and analyses at a higher intellectual level. Is the average parent able to do this? Or the parish priest? Does the religious instruction in schools and seminaries equip the parent, teacher and parish priest to steer those in their charge through the treacherous shoals and minefields of modern secular culture, backed by all the resources of the mass media? The teachers may be well-instructed in the Faith, though even this is less likely today, but if they are not also familiar with the science required, this will immediately be evident to their students and excite their ridicule and destroy the last vestiges of their waning authority.

Can we rely on the Catholic Press, periodicals and books by Catholic authors, to provide the needed education? With a few notable exceptions, this is little more than a disaster area. Most of the Catholic Press simply adopts the views of the secular media on matters related to science, and sometimes even seeks to solve the problems by making fun of and undermining science itself. Are Catholic libraries, in schools and seminaries, well stocked with sound books? All too often, one finds books by Hawking, Dawkins and Capra, but not those of Duhem, Jaki and Crombie, devout Catholics whose writings are immeasurably superior both in quantity and quality, showing massive scholarship and a deep understanding of the relation between theology and science in the context of human history.

What can he done about this situation, which is causing havoc in the Church? The responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of Catholic scientists. We have the necessary knowledge of science and we should know our Faith well enough to deal with these problems. We should be writing articles and books, lecturing and teaching. There are large numbers of well-qualified Catholic scientists, but few are accepting their responsibilities. One often finds excellent scientists who are devout Catholics but who never seem to connect their science with their faith. Scientific research is a full-time occupation, and it is not easy to acquire the necessary theological knowledge to understand accurately and clearly the relation between the two. By themselves, theological and scientific knowledge are not enough; they must be supplemented by a good knowledge of philosophy and history. Without this knowledge, it is easy to do more harm than good, and a consciousness of this inhibits many from even making the effort to gain the necessary knowledge.

These are difficulties to be overcome, not excuses for inaction, and the Science Secretariat of Pax Romana (SIQS) exists to help and encourage Catholic scientists to play their full part in the life of the Church. Pax Romana is the world-wide organisation uniting Catholic intellectuals in universities and colleges of higher education, in industry and in a wide range of other occupations. The Science Secretariat is responsible for matters concerning the physical and biological sciences, and provides an organisation and a forum to assist and stimulate Catholic scientists to fulfil their vocation.

In order to do this, contacts are maintained with Catholic scientists worldwide, and the aim is to have in each country a representative who seeks out Catholic scientists and encourages them to undertake the necessary extra studies. Annotated book lists are provided to facilitate these studies and meetings and lectures are arranged. Close contacts are maintained with the Pontifical Council for Culture, which is concerned with the same problems in a much broader way. The Pontifical Council has worldwide contacts at the highest level and thus facilitates communication between the Science Secretariat and Catholics in many countries.

A particularly important contribution is made by priest scientists, as they have the necessary theological training. The extensive writings of the Benedictine Professor S. L. Jaki are of inestimable value, as they provide essentially all that is necessary for Catholic scientists to become familiar with all aspects of the relation between theology and science. There are too few such people in the Church, and yet there could easily be many more. There are many priests who were trained as scientists before embarking on their theological studies, and they have the potential to make a vital contribution to the life of the Church. Unfortunately they are seldom given the opportunity to undertake further study, and so are not able to integrate their theological and scientific knowledge to the highest scholarly level. Instead, they are frequently given teaching and administrative duties that are certainly important but could be done just as well by many others. If they were given the opportunity for higher studies they could return as teachers in seminaries and universities and exert a powerful influence on the whole Church.

Particular importance is attached to the extensive writings of the Popes, especially of the present Holy Father, on science and technology. In many addresses he has reflected on most of the current problems and encouraged scientists to carry out their work for the glory of God and for the benefit of humanity. Most of these were addressed to meetings of scientists organised by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The Proceedings of these meetings are a valuable resource, but they are very seldom given the publicity they deserve. There are plans to publish a collection of some of the Holy Father's most important addresses on scientific questions.

An important activity of the Science Secretariat is the day devoted to scientific matters that is part of the large international Pax Romana Conferences that take place every three or four years. The last one took place in Warsaw in 1995 and was devoted to the theme of the nature of material reality. The next one will be on "The Place of the Scientist in the Life of the Church", and will address both the responsibilities of scientists themselves, and the ways we can co-operate with teachers in schools, seminaries and universities, and also with the media, to ensure that scientific questions are treated with objectivity and accuracy, and that moral problems are tackled in accord with Catholic moral principles. Five sessions are planned. In the first two, physicists and biologists will reflect on the scientific, technical and moral problems raised by their work. Some of these, for physicists, are the most recent cosmological discoveries, the choice of energy sources and the consequent effects on the environment. In the biological sciences there are problems raised by evolution, the origin of humanity and of life. The remaining three sessions will be devoted to the problems of bringing a sound knowledge of scientific matters to the Church as a whole. Consideration will be given to the place of science in schools, in universities and in the formation of priests and religious. A vital role is played by the Catholic Press, including the weekly newspapers and the more scholarly monthly or quarterly periodicals, and it is planned to discuss ways of improving coverage of scientific matters. In addition to the main speakers, written contributions will be welcomed, and the texts of the principal lectures and a summary of the conclusions will be published and widely distributed.

There is still much to do to develop contacts between Catholic scientists worldwide, to encourage them to play their full part in the life of the Church, and to provide the means necessary for them to do so. All Catholic scientists are welcome to contact the Secretary of SIQS, Professor W. Derkse (Postbus 37, Radboudstichting 5260 AA Vught, The Netherlands) and he will ensure that they receive the Bulletin on the activities of SIQS. Scientists of the Orthodox tradition, who are so close to us, are most welcome to share in all our activities. If you are not yourself a scientist, please pray for us, and tell any Catholic scientists you meet about our work.

—Peter Hodgson, President of SIQS

SECULARISM AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

An international congress was held in Rome from 5 to 7 December, 1995, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of Dignitatis humanae, the second Vatican Council's decree on religious liberty. The congress was organized jointly by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

The opening address was given by Cardinal Paul Poupard, who spoke on the theme of Secularism and Religious Liberty Thirty Years on from "Dignitatis Humanae". He was followed by Cardinal Jérome Hamer, who described the elaboration of the document. Mr. Kevin Hasson, President of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, challenged some modern assumptions affecting the exercise of freedom in religious matters.

There were some very high-powered contributions by speakers from France, the United States of America, Italy, England and Germany, as well as a videotaped message from Cardinal Vinko Puljic, Archbishop of Sarajevo, at that point still a city in despair. It is hard to single out individuals, but Mrs. Mary Ann Glendon, professor of law at Harvard University (and a leading member of the Holy See's delegation to the United Nations conference at Beijing in September 1995), spoke of some very real constraints on religious freedom, ironically in countries built on tolerance and respect for human rights. The Keynote Speech came at the end of the congress, and was given by Mr. George Weigel, who addressed the topic of "Dignitatis Humanae" and the Future of the Catholic Human Rights Revolution: Toward the Third Millennium.

3RD. RELIGIOUS BOOK AND COMMUNICATION EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION

This was held from 14 to 18 March 1996 in Milan. For the first time there were some editors and exhibitors from abroad. The number of visitors was also encouraging: 11,147 came to the convention, and some 4,000 came in from the Comics and Cartoon Convention next door! Quite a few radio and television companies broadcast items about the Convention, usually in cultural and religious programmes, but in one or two cases in news bulletins. Which topics are popular in the world of religious books? There has been a huge increase in titles on the role of women in the Church, and there are numerous titles on Christian social teaching and action, on esoteric religious movements and sects, and various publications linked to the Jubilee celebrations in the year 2000. The market aimed at young people and children is concentrating on multimedia products like CD-ROM, computer software and video cassettes.

CONFERENCIA EUROPEA SOBRE CIENCIA Y TEOLOGÍA

La Sociedad europea para el estudio de la ciencia y la teología (ESSSAT) ha celebrado en Cracovia, del 26 al 30 de marzo de 1996, la Sexta conferencia europea sobre ciencia y teología (ECST VI), con el tema general de: «La interrelación entre la visión científica y la visión teológica del mundo». Han participado cerca de doscientos congresistas venidos de todo el mundo: Alemania, Australia, Austria, Bélgica, Brasil, Bulgaria, Canadá, China, Dinamarca, España, Estados Unidos, Francia, Gran Bretaña, Grecia, Holanda, Hungría, Irán, Italia, Lituania, Noruega, Polonia, República Checa, Rumanía, Rusia, Suecia, Suiza y Ucrania.

Del programa de actos cabe destacar las cinco grandes conferencias patrocinadas por la Fundación Templeton. El Prof. Jean Ladrière, de la Universidad Católica de Lovaina (Bélgica), habló sobre el papel de la filosofía en el diálogo entre ciencia y fe. El Prof. Ernan McMullin, de la Universidad de Notre Dame (Indiana, EEUU) trató sobre la evolución cósmica, armonizando la finalidad del proceso evolutivo con sus aspectos más contingentes. El conflicto aparente entre finalidad y contingencia se resuelve apelando a un Dios trascendente y, por tanto, atemporal. El Dr. Michael W.S. Parsons habló, desde una perspectiva anglicana, del diálogo entre ciencia y fe, tomando partido por un diálogo que tenga como finalidad última una integración de ambos campos. Por último, el Prof. Xavier Sallantin especuló, desde una perspectiva teilhardiana, sobre las consecuencias que los últimos desarrollos de la física pueden tener para la doctrina de la creación.

La conferencia conclusiva correspondió a Mons. Joseph Zycinski —obispo de Tarnów (Polonia), y miembro del Consejo Pontificio de la Cultura— que se planteó el tema de la relación entre Dios y el universo. En su brillante conferencia defendió que se puede hablar de una auténtica presencia de Dios en la naturaleza. Esta presencia se manifiesta, ante todo, en la existencia de leyes naturales; y también en el proceso evolutivo, cada vez que se produce la emergencia de una novedad verdadera a partir de su pura posibilidad. Sólo en Dios se puede encontrar un fundamento del orden cósmico. En este sentido, Mons. Zycinski defendió una inmanencia de Dios en el universo que no sería incompatible con su trascendencia, porque la presencia oculta de Dios en las leyes físicas y biológicas no se puede reducir al nivel del orden natural. Frente al panteísmo, sería defendible un panenteísmo que recupere la tradición platónica en sentido amplio. Apuntó como sugerente en este sentido la obra del Cardenal Nicolás de Cusa (siglo XV), o, en nuestro siglo, las de Alvin Plantinga y Robert Stalnaker.

Mons. Zycinski terminó su exposición expresando su desacuerdo con ciertas interpretaciones modernas que hallan un espacio a la acción de Dios en las fluctuaciones cuánticas previstas por el principio de indeterminación de Heisenberg, y presentó un modelo alternativo, según el cual el papel inmanente de Dios en la historia cósmica estaría contenido en lo que se podrían llamar, metafóricamente, «condiciones de limitación» (boundary conditions). Dios sería el Logos cósmico cuyo papel en la historia quedaría fijado en el mismo momento inicial de la creación, por medio de unas «condiciones de limitación» que determinarían la evolución posterior del «sistema cósmico» (visto desde el punto de vista de Dios) por medio de una serie de factores físicos, biológicos, psíquicos y espirituales. Entre dichos factores estarían contenidas incluso —gracias a la omnipotencia y a la omnisciencia de Dios— las potenciales respuestas divinas al comportamiento humano libre, a las oraciones de petición, etc. De este modo, no sería necesario recurrir a los microintervalos cuánticos para explicar la intervención de Dios en la naturaleza.

Además de las conferencias pensadas para todos los participantes, lo más sustancial del congreso fue la actividad desarrollada en grupos menores de trabajo repartidos temáticamente. De este modo se trataron los siguientes temas: la interacción entre ciencia y teología desde una perspectiva histórica; cuestiones metodológicas en la relación ciencia-teología; el papel de la filosofía en el diálogo ciencia-teología; el impacto de la ciencia en las teologías contemporáneas; la teología de la naturaleza; visiones del mundo científicas y sus consecuencias; visiones del mundo teológicas y su significado; visiones del mundo y Biblia; la visión del mundo científica y la visión teológica en la educación religiosa; la ética y las ciencias; la relación entre física y teología; la relación entre biología y teología; las ciencias humanas y la teología; ciencia y pseudociencia, teología y pseudoteología.

Por parte del Consejo Pontificio de la Cultura estuvo presente en el Congreso D. Luis Gahona Fraga. En su opinión, cabe destacar la importancia de esta conferencia de ESSSAT para el diálogo ciencia-fe en el ámbito europeo, como foro de encuentro y de comunicación entre representantes de diversas denominaciones cristianas (e incluso de otras religiones) interesados en el diálogo con la ciencia desde los más diversos puntos de vista. Por otra parte, un encuentro de esta naturaleza pone inmediatamente de manifiesto cuán difícil puede resultar este diálogo si por «teología» se entiende un credo cualquiera o incluso cualquier conjunto de opiniones referentes a la religión. Un diálogo serio con el mundo de la ciencia exige algo más que un mero entusiasmo por el hecho de que existan científicos que se planteen cuestiones religiosas; y, desde luego, no se puede llevar a cabo partiendo de una teología cualquiera, como si ello fuera indiferente para un diálogo fructífero.

Uno de los aspectos que se pudieron observar en el Congreso es la fuerza que tiene —incluso entre estudiosos tan interesados en el diálogo ciencia-fe como para asistir a un Congreso de esta índole— la corriente autodenominada «naturalista» o «fisicalista», que aún pretendiendo una superación del materialismo craso, reduce todo lo existente, en último término, a las realidades materiales elementales estudiadas por la física (cf. en esta línea Willem B. Drees, Religion, Science and Naturalism, Cambridge University Press, 1996). En este sentido, es muy fuerte el prejuicio filosófico de algunos contra la posibilidad de un Dios trascendente. Aceptar la trascendencia parece que es caer en el dualismo, y éste es considerado por muchos como simplemente inaceptable, y, en consecuencia, ni siquiera digno de ser tomado en consideración. Parece en cambio más atrayente el rodear de un halo de misterio la emergencia de cualidades de complejidad creciente en el proceso evolutivo, o, en todo caso, optar por un Dios tan inmanente al universo físico que apenas si se distinguiría de él.

Estas reflexiones nos mueven a resaltar de nuevo la importancia de desarrollar una cosmovisión católica, que por un lado tenga por fundamento los sanos principios de la visión filosófico-teológica propia del pensamiento católico; y que por otro, sepa integrarlos armónicamente con los resultados de la ciencia contemporánea. Empresa ardua y laboriosa que exige un serio esfuerzo interdisciplinar por parte de muchas personas e instituciones; pero de todo punto necesaria si queremos evangelizar de veras la cultura contemporánea.

(Para más información sobre ESSSAT dirigirse a: Antje Jackelén (Secretary), Högseröds Prästgard, S-24030 Löberöd, Suecia; tel/fax: +46.413.30398. Para inscribirse en la asociación, contactar a: Charlotte Methuen, Ziegelhäuser Landstraße 45, 69120 Heidelberg, Alemania. Tel: +49.6221.475950. La asociación publica la circular ESSSAT-News: W.B. Drees, Bezinningscentrum Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1115, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands. Tel. +31.20.444.5675; Fax 5680; email WB.Drees@dienst.vu.nl)