Log-book: April 1999

Homeless are squatting in an hotel

Meeting at Retine (Belgium)

At the Palais de Chaillot theater

Archives

At the FNAC shop of Dijon

At the collegiate church of Dinant (Belgium)

Bibliography

Partenia some figures




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HOMELESS ARE SQUATTING IN AN HOTEL

 

Around 20 young people squatted in an empty and shabby hotel down town of Carcassonne. They are homeless, jobless and penniless but they have brought their animals with them and are full of projects. They want to stay together and they want to transform the left-over building into a social hotel for young people living on the street. Under their request I came to Carcassonne to spend a day with them and to show my solidarity. All those who were concerned by the project : from the Prefecture (Head of the County) to the Town Hall, from Associations to ad-hoc Committees, they met together and decided to set a pilot-committee. During a public meeting, the person in charge for the young people spoke and presented their project for a social hotel. He did it with much conviction and accuracy . Why not to be delighted for this action, if it works that will be a premiere in France.


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AT THE FNAC SHOP OF DIJON

 

Between two trains, I was attending a meeting organized by the retail sale shop FNAC for the publishing of my last book. The place is friendly: the room is full, we are all piled up and the discussion very open. Several questions surprised me and made me think. "How it happens that Christians leave the Church but keep the Gospel? The Church would be out of date and the Gospel a topic? The Church would not accept those who are drop outs but those ones found themselves at ease with the Gospel. Isn't it strange? I learned by experience that the Gospel is abrupt and the words of Jesus hard to follow. Isn't the Gospel a subject of division?

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MEETING AT RETINE (Belgium)

 

The evening meeting is well organized, almost 700 people are there. During the discussion I feel the suffering endured by the priests or laymen from the Church. There is no aggressiveness but a deep disappointment. It is good that this suffering can be expressed in front of everybody, truthfully and with friendly understanding. At the end I felt some kind of hope among the people. Hope build up through bad times and conflicts when the future seems to be closed, doesn't it?

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AT THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF DINANT (Belgium)

 

We are full of admiration for the collegiate church erected between the rocs and the river Meuse. The assembly take seat and by its presence fulfill the beauty of the place. In presence of the Bishop of Namur, I speak about the drop outs. A question could not escape to be raised this evening: why the Vatican contacted the British government to drop the action against General Pinochet?

The lack of understanding by and the disapproval of many Catholics for this intervention is a sign of the desire for a Church more credible, that is to say a Church genuine in every situation. The Church at Rome never spoke to defend the memory of the victims during 17 years of dictatorship

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AT THE PALAIS DE CHAILLOT THEATER

 

The demonstration of people without permit to stay in France was organized in a symbolic place. It could not be a better place than the one where the Universal Declaration of Human rights were solemnly proclaimed in 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot!
The intermission was coming to an end, the attendance (1200 persons) were coming back to their seat for the end of the play "L'avare" the famous play of Moliere.

Than a delegation sent by the demonstrators arrived on the stage. Michel Picoli introduced our non-expected demonstration. He read a message in favour of these people from Yehudi Menuhin sent two days before his death. Then a timid young Algerian briefly spoke about their hopeless situation. At this moment I heard only whistles and bad remarks from the spectators: " Enough! Out! No politics here! We came for a show" Of course there were some applause but harmony was broken by the sudden coming of the demonstrators. What would have said Moliere about these people so "avaricious" of citizenship?

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PARTENIA

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Retrospective

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PS: Partenia some figures, 1998

 

Total number of pages presented in seven laguages on the WEB last year: 66 430

Total number of visitors last year: 114 000

Increase of visitors last year: 22'000

Month average of visitors: 9 500

Number of e-mail messages received by Bishop Jacques Gaillot: 2 500

Number of e-mail messages received by the Webmaster: 1 460

Active Forum members form October 1 to December 31, 1998: 393

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