This year it was Styria, a region in Austria, that hosted the Friends of Together for Europe meeting from 31 October to 2 November 2024: there were 215 participants, from 19 European states, and belonging to 52 Movements, Communities and Associations.
The starting date is steeped in history: it marked 25 years since the signing of the Joint Declaration on Justification and the 25th anniversary of the birth of Together for Europe. The Evangelical Bishop Christian Krause was present with a vibrant audio message: ‘This is about standing together (…) Europe is in a very critical phase (…). And so: Christians forward, please. This is Graz, this is my hope’.
Called to hope: what motivates our hope? It is the action of God working through the charisms, gifts of the Spirit to our time, present in our Movements. We rediscover them in a fraternal exchange that illuminates the gift of the other. We considered them in our journey with Thomas Römer, in the charism of Togetherness with Jesús Morán, and in our common outreach with Fr Raffael Rieger.
Discussions either in small or language groups, or dealing with concrete topics enriched the days; as did prayers and experiences from different parts of Europe.
A lively panel discussion characterised the last morning, which was open to the public: How do we move from polarisation to togetherness? The Catholic Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl, Prof. Ingeborg Gabriel, and the former Prime Ministers of Slovenia, Alojz Peterle, and Slovakia, Eduard Heger, took up the challenge. In the afternoon, an ecumenical walk in the beautiful city of Graz concluded the event.
Read the more detailed article regarding the event>>
Articles about the event
Speeches, photos, press release
Photogallery of the event (more photos see in documents)
