Justice and Peace Europe: a meeting in Paris about the war in Ukraine, the impact of inflation on European society, and youth social projects

The impact of the high inflation on societies, especially on young people, was the theme of the meeting of the general secretaries of the Conference of European Justice and Peace Commissions. Thirty delegates of twenty Catholic commissions and organisations met in Paris last weekend. This was reported in a release by Justice and Peace Europe. The conference was opened by the President of the Bishops’ Conference of France, mgr. Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the Governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau, and by Anne-Florence Quintin of the French Confederation of Labour (Cfdt). The attendants visited Césure, a project in the Latin Quarter of Paris, run by the cooperative Plateau Urbain that brings to life a former university hall to “embrace social and cultural projects to help students affected by the worsening economic and social conditions”. The general secretaries discussed the reports of the Prague Synod and the yearly initiative 2023 “Facing our fears and reconnecting the world”. The participants thanked the delegate of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic church for his “story of Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s brutal invasion last February”. The delegates of Justice and Peace reiterated their “support to and solidarity with the Ukrainian population”. The Acting President, Cécile Dubernet, thanked Archbishop Noel Treanor, who had been President of Justice and Peace Europe for four years, and wished him a good start in his new role as apostolic nuncio to the European Union.
Valentina Bombelli