The 8th Gniezno Convention of religious movements and association is launched in Gniezno, near Poznan, western Poland.
Krystyna Kołosowska reports
Nearly 800 representatives of Christian churches, together with Muslims and Jews from all over Europe have arrived for the three-day event, to talk about the value of traditional family. Polish President, as well as Cardinal Ennio Antonelli of the Pontifical Council for the Family are also to address the convention.
This year's main theme of the convention is "Family - the hope for Europe". "In view of the family crisis in Europe, a widespread debate is necessary, especially that the very definition of family is being questioned: family as a union or man and woman bound with love, whose aim is to receive and bring up new generations," organizers explain on their website.
"It's about the defense of the family, and that is a common cause for Christians, Jews and Muslims," said the host of the convention, archbishop Stanisław Muszyński, adding that the convention is meant to reiterate fundamental rules, that the family is a natural institution, which is the foundation of every society. He criticized the recent efforts to redefine family, saying that "under the pretext of freedom, equality and tolerance, an attempt is made to picture sexual minority unions as equal to marriages. This is a tragic misunderstanding - they never have been, they are not and they will never be family, regardless of the status they may receive in state law," he said.
Gniezno is considered the cradle of Christianity, the city of St. Adalbert, whom John Paul II named as the patron for Europe’s unity.