Over 7,000 Poles are attending the 31st European Meeting of Young organised by Taize.   

Report by Slawek Szefs

The five-day event has brought to the Belgian capital some 40,000 young Christians of different denominations not only from Europe. Following meetings in Geneva, Zagreb, Milan, Lisbon or Wroclaw, in Poland, Brussels is another stage of the 'pilgrimage of trust' initiated over three decades ago by brother Roger, the founder of the Taize Community. 

Opening the meeting in Brussels brother Alois, successor to the late founder of Taize, stressed that in times of hardships posed by the contemporary world it is important to stay united in order to remind each other of hope which keeps the world alive.

The Taize Community addressed an appeal to the leaders of 27 EU countries in which the brothers take a concrete stand on all burning issues concerning globalization, the financial crisis, the essence of the European Union and its future.