Council of European Bishops to meet in Malta

The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE) will hold a two-day meeting in Valletta over a two day period next week from the 2^nd to the 4^th of December, in which they will discuss, amongst other things, the care for migrants and refugees in light of the challenges they face today.

The CCEE encompasses the current 33 European Bishops' Conferences and next week's discussions will focus on the challenges and prospects for the care of migrants and refugees, migratory policies and the issue of integration of immigrant workers.

The meeting will also focus on the co-operation between the Bishops' Conferences, and the exchange of experiences and the difficulties faced by national directors.

The two-day meeting will begin with a visit to Hal Safi but will largely take place in Valletta at the invitation of Archbishop, Mgr Paul Cremona.

Numerous experts and protagonists in the pastoral care of migrants and refugees are expected to participate, including the leaders of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, its President, Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò, and the Under-secretary of the Vatican dicastery, Mgr Gabriele Ferdinando Bentoglio.

There will also be, among the guests at the meeting, the Minister for Home Affairs Emmanuel Mallia, Minister for Civil Liberties Helena Dalli, Ambassador José Angelo Oropeza Rojas, IOM Director of the Co-ordinating Office for the Mediterranean and Chief of Mission for Italy and Malta; and the Holy See's local representative, Mgr Aldo Cavalli, Apostolic Nuncio to Malta and Libya.

"The phenomenon of migration has always been present on the European continent, but today for a variety of reasons it assumes new dimensions and appears to be more complex than ever", said Mgr Duarte da Cunha, CCEE General Secretary.

"Refugees and temporary migrants need an answer from society at the social, political and also pastoral levels to the new challenges," he added.

"Conscious that religious life and belonging to a faith community is very important in the life of each person and that this is felt particularly in those who are far from their home, it is urgent that the value the Church's pastoral care has for the life of emigrants be recognised by everyone," he said.

"The pastoral care of migrants is not an accessory, but rather it is a priority for the Church and has an influence on the whole of social life," he said.

A news conference will take place on Tuesday 3 December at 1230 at Mount St. Joseph Retreat House in which there will be interventions from Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Cardinal Josip Bozanic, Archbishop of Zagreb and President of the "Migrants" Section of CCEE's "Caritas in Veritate" Commission, Fr Alfred Vella, Director of the "Malta Emigrants" Commission and Mgr Duarte da Cunha, the General Secretary of the CCEE.