The Week for Hope is a festival organised from 24-27 June by COMECE to honour the tenth anniversary of Ecclesia in Europa. Precisely ten years ago, on 28 June 2003 the late Pope John Paul II published Ecclesia in Europa, an apostolic letter to the people of Europe. The Pope insisted that the Church in Europe (Ecclesia in Europa) must be a Church for Europe. The Week for Hope should give fresh hope in a very difficult time, when the founding vision has been eclipsed by the dramatic side-effects of the economic crisis and by the rising spectres of nationalism, populism and xenophobia. Read more

Clinical trials are necessary before any new medicine is put on the market. However, many people who are unable to give consent as well as people from less-developed countries often participate in such trials. So how can we better protect these people and vulnerable populations against abuse? The European Commission has proposed a regulation which will be submitted to a vote of the European Parliament next 29 May. The COMECE bioethical experts consider that the proposal could go further in the protection of the people concerned. Read more

‘On this 9 May is celebrated across our continent as Europe Day. It offers us an occasion to recall the beginnings of the great adventure which has grown the nations of Europe closer together. Peace and Solidarity, the principal goals set on the 9 May 1950, still need to be pursued with even greater persistence in 2013, given that we are living through an economic crisis, which is profoundly impacting on European society and causing much pain. There are some politicians, and citizens too, who imagine that conflict and division will resolve this crises. Such logic takes us back 70 years to a continent deeply divided by hatred and mutual suspicion. But we simply do not want to turn back; we want to move forward. In this, we must take our lead from the vision of ‘transformation’ outlined by Robert Schuman in the preliminary text of his 9 May declaration'. Read more