Romana

This was the title of a series of six conferences held from April to November in the auditorium of the Oratory of Saint Josemaría, in Lisbon. The sessions were aimed at providing a forum for reflection on the new evangelization of Europe in accord with the ideas expressed by John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa.

The conferences were part of the preparation for the ICNE (International Conference on the New Evangelization), which will be held in 2005 in the Patriarchate of Lisbon.

The topics and speakers were as follows: “Christians in the Face of the World (Dis)order” by law professor Mario Pinto; “The Culture of Life: Education for Life,” by Congressman Antonio Pinheiro Torres; “Culture and Life Styles in Europe,” by philosophy professor Luisa Couto Soares; and “The Singularity of the Family,” by Margarida Neto, the national commissioner for family matters.

The inaugural conference, entitled “The Mission in the City: the New Evangelization,” was given by Canon Carlos Paes of the Diocese of Lisbon, who is in charge of organizing ICNE in Lisbon.

Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo, Patriarch of Lisbon, closed the series with a talk entitled “New Challenges: the Cultural Reality of Europe.”