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THE FIRST EUROPEAN MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE EPISCOPAL COMMISSIONS FOR CULTURE

The Castle of Klingenthal, 9-12 September, 1999


The pastoral approach to culture arouses an ever increasing interest in the Church, as testified to by the Bishops on their ad Limina visits, the Synods of Bishops and Episcopal Conferences, but also by all those who, in any capacity, are involved in the field of the encounter of the faith with the cultures of our time. This realisation goes hand in hand with numerous questions concerning the aim, the fields of action and the means of the pastoral approach to culture.

On the eve of the II Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops, and bearing in mind the fact that some Episcopal Conferences have a Commission for Culture or a Commission for non-believers, while others have not yet made provision for them, this Pontifical Council for Culture, engaged in furnishing an effective service to the particular Churches, invites the Bishops of Europe, entrusted by the respective Episcopal Conferences of the Pastoral Approach to Culture, to participate in the first Colloquium which will be held from Thursday, 9 to Sunday, 12 September, 1999, at the castle of Klingenthal, in the diocese of Strasburg.

A certain number of Episcopal Conferences of Europe has already instituted within its own set-up a Commission for Culture entrusted with the relationship between faith and culture. Others wish to receive suggestions in this decisive field for the future of the Church. Finally, some Episcopal Conferences, with a limited number of permanent staff and resources, or in particularly difficult conditions, pose the question on the opportuneness of a pastoral approach to culture.

In order to respond to these questions, in particular on the reasons of this pastorale, in the various fields in which it can be exercised, but also with the aim of presenting to the Bishops pastoral initiatives which are in the phase of being realised, the Colloquium will propose to the participants brief specific interventions, which may serve as a cue for discussion, which is the essential part of the meeting.

In the perspective of the new evangelisation in Europe, the pastoral approach to culture, in a context often marked by non-belief and religious indifference, has as its primary objective to inject the life blood of the Gospel into cultures in order to renew them from within and transform in the light of Revelation, the vision of man and of society which moulds culture, the way of understanding man and woman, the family and education, the school and the university, freedom and truth, work and leisure, economy and society, the sciences and the arts.

The pastoral approach to culture, in its multiple expressions, has no other aim but to help the whole Church to fulfil her mission of proclaiming the Gospel, until the message of Christ inspires the whole of Christian existence, as the Third Millennium draws near.


PROGRAMME

Thursday, 9 September, 1999:

Afternoon, arrival of the participants

19.30: Dinner

Evening: Informal Meeting with His Excellency, Mons. Joseph Doré, Archbishop of Strasburg, Member of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

* * * * *

Friday, 10 September, 1999:

7.30: Concelebrated Mass
8.15: Breakfast
9.00: The First Session
Paul Cardinal Poupard, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, The Opening of the Meeting.
His Excellency, Mons. Franc Rodé, Archbishop of Ljubljana, Member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, "I will speak to your heart": the prophetic character of the pastoral approach to Culture.
10.15: Coffee Break
10.45: P. Marko Rupnik, S.J., Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture, What type of pastoral approach for artists?
11.15: Discussion
12.30: Lunch
15.00: The Second Session
His Excellency, Mons. Donal Brendan Murray, Bishop of Limerick, Member of the Pontifical Council for Culture
P. Alain Fontaine, A.A., President of lÂÂ’Union des Religieux de Turquie (URT)
The task of the pastoral approach to culture in particular situations: Ireland and Turkey.
16.00: Discussion
16.30: Coffee Break
17.00: Mr. Krzysztof Zanussi, Film director, Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture, The media of social communication: the game at stake and the challenges for the pastoral approach to culture.
17.30: Discussion
19.00: Vespers
19.30: Dinner

* * * * *

Saturday, 11 September, 1999:

7.30: Concelebrated Mass
8.15: Breakfast
9.00: The Third Session
His Excellency, Mons. Jozef Miroslaw Zycinski, Archbishop of Lublin, Member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, The pastoral challenges in the context of science.
9.30: Discussion
10.15: Coffee Break
10.45: Fr. Aldo Giordano, Secretary General of the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe
Fr. Peter Fleetwood of the Pontifical Council for Culture, entrusted with the problem of the sects
The Cultural dimension of the pastorale in the context of the sects and new religious movements.
11.30: Discussion
12.30: Lunch
15.00: The Fourth Session
His Excellency, Mons. Egidio Caporello, Bishop of Mantova, President of the Episcopal Commision for Catholic Education, Culture, the School and University, An Initiative of the Italian Episcopal Conference: "A cultural project in a Christian perspective".
16.00: Discussion
16.30: Coffee Break
17.00: His Excellency, Mons. Fernand Frank, Archbishop of Luxemburg, Culture, the privileged locus of encounter with non-believers.
17.30: Discussion
19.00: Vespers
19.30: Dinner

* * * * *

Sunday, 12 September, 1999:

7.30: Concelebrated Mass
8.30: Breakfast
9.15: Conclusions

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