The presidents and delegates of the associated organisations and members of the Federation of Catholic Families Associations in Europe (FAFCE) are meeting in Murcia, Spain, for their biennial Board meeting from 2 to 4 May.
This is the first time that the meeting is being held in Spain at the Catholic University Saint Anthony of Murcia. Catholic family associations from all over Europe will set the priorities that will guide their work and actions at the EU level over the next six months. Two new observer delegates from the Bishops’ Conferences of the Nordic Countries and of Albania will take part in the Board Meeting for the first time. An international congress was held yesterday on Family Networks: “Antidote to loneliness”, in response to the invitation made by Pope Francis in his 2022 address to the FAFCE to foster a “fruitful and effective spirit of communion and collaboration between European families”. The conference, organised by the University in cooperation with the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), was attended by Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, Apostolic Nuncio to the Kingdom of Spain and the Principality of Andorra, and by Mgr. Arūnas Poniškaitis, Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius (Lithuania) and Vice-President of the Family and Life Commission of the CCEE. Today, 3 May, a debate is scheduled on the use of gender wording in EU documents. During the day, a Mass will be celebrated in the University church. On 4 May, there will be an online presentation with Amanda Zurface, Catholic Church specialist for the US software company Covenant Eyes.