Around 300 delegates will participate in the event, which is intended to offer a Christian perspective on Europe’s recovery in the political, economic, and social systems, especially after the coronavirus pandemic.
At a press conference at the Vatican on Dec. 10, Hollerich said the meeting would focus on exploring three transitions Europe is experiencing: a demographic transition and family life; a technological and digital transition; and an ecological transition.
“One of Pope Francis’ dreams for Europe is ‘a Europe that is a family and a community,’” Hollerich said. “The first session of the Social Days will give the opportunity to reflect on the sense of community and to highlight the family as the first community. Family is the future of Europe and must be supported by adequate social policies to cope with the real ‘demographic winter.’”
“We will also approach the issue of the population decline, the growing rural-urban divide in Europe, and the importance of family as the nucleus cell of society. Acting as a community includes developing a spirit of fraternity and solidarity against individualism and conflicts, in order to face together Europe’s challenges,” added the president of COMECE.
CCEE president Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania, said at the live-streamed press conference that the three thematic areas of the meeting “point to the fact that the first step for a just recovery is to invest in the family and in the defense of human life.”
“Starting from the current social issues that affect European societies, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and aware that the Gospel offers the criterion of true secularism that does not exclude loyal and respectful collaboration for the integral good of society, we want to analyze those issues that we believe are fundamental for a just social, economic and ecclesial recovery, working together with European peoples and governments, to a recovery that leaves no one behind,” he said.