(ANS – Brussels) – The first meeting of the Committee for Social Affairs of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) was held on Wednesday 23 September. It was presided over by Bishop Gianni Ambrosio of Piacenza-Bobbio and Vice-President of COMECE. At the meeting Don Bosco International (DBI) gave an account of the work the Salesians and the whole Salesian Family are doing in the area of youth and employment. The presentation was made by Ángel Gudiña, Executive Secretary of DBI.

The Committee for Social Affairs aims to advance the reflection of the Church in Europe on urgent topics such as employment, access to housing, poverty and social exclusion, and implement and update in today's society the fundamentals of the Church’s social teaching.

The report from Don Bosco International brought the day’s reflections to a conclusion. It was a concrete example of the Church’s contribution in relation to unemployment and youth work. Starting from the message of the Rector Major’s Strenna for 2015  - Like Don Bosco, with young people and for young people - and based on the latest statistics from the Salesian Youth Ministry Department, Ángel Gudiña presented the Salesian methodology for strengthening and empowering young people, especially those most in need, and making them agents of change. Various fields of educational and pastoral action were exhibited, with a focus on job training, and several examples were shown of concrete projects, trying at all times to relate them to the current priorities of the European institutions.

According to the participants, the contribution of Don Bosco and the Salesians in the area of employment and the application of the Social Doctrine of the Church is irreplaceable. The report was a motivating factor for the work that awaits the Committee in the coming months.

Two other speakers touched on issues such as young people in the Social Economy and the European Union's actions in the field of youth employment, as reported by a representative of the European Commission.

The meeting ended with a Mass for Europe, in the church of Our Lady of Victory, in the district of Sablon, celebrated by Bishop Jean Kockerols, Auxiliary Bishop of Brussels and Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, of Luxembourg.

Published 29/09/2015