A delegation of the Maltese Episcopal Conference will be attending a European congress organised by the Commission of Episcopal Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) together with Catholic movements and organisations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signing of The Treaty of Rome.
The congress, between tomorrow and Sunday, is entitled Values And Perspectives For Europe.
The Maltese delegation will be led by Archbishop Paul Cremona, who is also president of the Maltese Episcopal Conference.
The delegation includes Gozo Bishop Mario Grech, Fr Vanni Xuereb, president of the Church in Malta and Europe Commission, Anna Vella, president of the Cana Movement, and Mariella Chetcuti, from the Youth Diocesan Commission.
During the congress, a report prepared by a COMECE experts' committee (which includes Fr Peter Serracino Inglott) will be presented. A document called The Message of Rome will be discussed and, if agreed upon, approved.
The Message of Rome is aimed at the leaders of EU member states and will be presented to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi to pass on to his fellow EU leaders meeting in Berlin on Saturday and Sunday.
In Berlin, the European leaders are expected to adopt a declaration that will serve as a new impetus for European integration.
Congress participants would also have an opportunity to pray together. They will visit the resting place of Alcide de Gasperi, an Italian Catholic statesman and post-war Christian Democratic leader, considered one of the founders of the EU.
The participants will have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican and will take part in a Mass at St Peter's Basilica, celebrated by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's Secretary of State.
A number of leading European politicians will be addressing the congress. These include Hans-Gerting Pottering, president of the European Parliament, Franco Frattini, vice-president of the European Commission, Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, and Wolfgang Schauble, German Home Affairs Minister.
Archbishop Cremona will also be taking part, for the first time, in the plenary meeting of COMECE. During the meeting, the Archbishop will be accompanied by Bishop Grech and Fr Xuereb.
The Maltese Episcopal Conference has been taking part in COMECE meetings since 2001. The Episcopal Conference became a full member of COMECE on Malta's accession to the EU.
Besides participation in plenary meetings, the Maltese Episcopal Conference is also represented in the Commission for Legal Affairs and in COMECE's Commission for Migration.