Catholic Church in the Czech Republic Website provided by Czech Bishop Conference

Enclosed you will find a declaration "Common values – the living source of the European project" of the Member Bishops of the COMECE signed on 24 November 2006 and sent today (11 December) to the heads of Member States and to European Authorities. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

In a statement from 6 December, the Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland oppose British government proposals to close or merge more than a third of Northern Ireland schools. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

The Latin American bishops' council has helped form 106 new youthful missionaries of "lectio divina" – sacred reading of Scripture – for Mexico and Central America. CELAM's Pastoral Biblical Center for Latin America joined with the United Bible Societies in the project, which aims to form 10,000 such missionaries. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

A delegation of the Israeli government visited the Holy See on November 27 to renew its invitation to Benedict XVI to visit Israel and to establish an agenda of negotiations: a pair of meetings of the Israel – Holy See Permanent Bilateral Commission on key issues in the Church – state relationship. The first meeting in December will be attended by experts from the Vatican and Israel. The second meeting in January will be attended by governmental ministers. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

This morning (7 December), the 11th public session of the pontifical academies was held in the Vatican's New Synod Hall. This year's event was organized by the Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate and the Pontifical International Marian Academy on the theme: "Mary Immaculate, Mother of all men, icon of beauty and of divine charity." Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

"Cesta domů" (The Homecoming) is a hospice civic association that aspires to improve fundamentally the care of the terminally ill, the dying, and their families in the Czech Republic. Now it offers a new way of help: you can contribute to the terminally ill and dying by purchasing a present at the "Cesta domů" office in Prague. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

Apostolic Nuncio Diego Causero will preside over the mass at the Dominican Church of St Giles in Prague on Friday 8 December at 6.30 pm. He will bless a statue of St Martin de Porres, the Dominican saint. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

The Holy Father Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Stanisław Wojciech Wielgus of Płock as metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw, Poland. He succeeds Cardinal Józef Glemp, whose resignation the Holy Father accepted upon having reached the age limit. Cardinal Glemp continues to be the Polish Primate. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

The Catholic Church has good relations with the Russian Orthodox Church and is not trying to engage in proselytism, said the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, yesterday, 5 December, in response to the Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy II's appeal to the Holy See to stop its "unfriendly" actions toward the Orthodox Church in Russia. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

Russian Patriarch Alexiy II accused the Catholic Church of "hostile policy" and converting the Orthodox believers to the Catholic Church. Such acts can make worse the Orthodox-Catholic negotiations, he said. The Holy See refuses these accusations and says the Catholic Church only takes care of her believers in Russia. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

Father Sami Al-Rais, rector of the major Chaldean Seminary and Moral Theology teacher at the Faculty of Theology, Babel College, in Baghdad, was kidnapped on Monday 4 December 2006. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.

The Peace Light of Bethlehem will arrive to Vienna on Saturday 16 December 2006 and Czech Scouts will take it to Brno. The distribution will be provided by regular trains throughout the country on Sunday 17 December. Full text of the news in Czech: HERE.