Munich: CCEE-CEC Committee for Relations with Muslims in Europe (CRME): Conference on “Meeting Muslim Today” (19-21 january 2009)

How should the meeting with Europe’s Muslims be framed today? That was the question on which the Committee for Relations with Muslims in Europe (CRME) focussed during its meeting in Munich from 19-21 January 2009. This Committee, established in 1986, is a joint committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Munich meeting signalled the end of its 6-year mandate.
The Committee has equal membership from the two bodies and its current 15 members come from 12 European nations and different Churches. CRME meetings are also attended by a representative from the Holy See and from the World Council of Churches. During the mandate that has just come to an end the undertaking was to draw up guidance for the Churches, providing them with help for a positive approach to living side-by-side with Muslims in Europe as well as drawing up with Muslims the positions to take with regard to the socio-political challenges to be faced.
The last CRME meeting examined two fundamental points: the adoption of the working document “Reacting to a new reality: Muslims in Europe and the formation of religious and pastoral collaborators”. The CCEE/CEC Committee had already examined this issue in the course of its first mandate and in 1991 had made some recommendations. In recent years the religious geography has changed a great deal. Muslims have organised themselves, have religious centres and in all European countries have sought appropriate ways for the formation of imams and religion teachers. The new document illustrates the changes that have been observed and proposes guidance about the ways in which theological formation today should assimilate such changes.
The second fundamental point examined concerned the report on the Committee’s work as well recommendations for future work. It was noted that the Christian-Muslim Conference which took place in Malines/Brussels from 20-23 October with the theme “Being a Citizen of Europe and a Person of Faith” provided an important boost for future work. European society has become multi-religious and in this new context Christians and Muslims must witness to their faith in one God in order to contribute in a responsible manner, through their faith, to the shaping of society.

Munich, 21 January 2009

*****************
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a communion of 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches of all European Countries, and 40 associated organizations. It was founded in 1959. The offices of CEC are in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.
The Council of Bishops´ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) comprises as members the current 33 Bishops´ Conferences of Europe – whose Presidents are their legal representatives, as well as the Archbishops of Luxemburg and of the Principality of Monaco and the Bishop of Chişinău (Moldavia). The President is Cardinal Péter Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Primate of Hungary; the Vice-Presidents are Cardinal Josip Bosanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, and Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux. The General Secretary of CCEE is Mgr. Aldo Giordano. The headquarters of the Secretariat is in St Gallen (Switzerland).

P.O. Box 2100 – 150, route de Ferney Gallusstrasse, 24
CH-1211 Geneva 2 CH – 9000 St. Gallen
Tel: +41 22 791 61 11 Fax: +41 22 791 62 27 Tel: +41 71 227 60 40 Fax: +41 71 227 60 41
E-mail: cec@cec-kek.org E-mail: ccee@ccee.ch
Home-page: www.cec-kek.org Home-page: www.ccee.ch