Abbreviation OCIPE Website OCIPE. | Affiliations Jesuit, Catholic | |
Established 1956; 61 years ago (1956) Location Rue de la Toussaint
Strasbourg, France | ||
The Catholic Office of Information and Initiative for Europe (OCIPE) is a research and documentation center on ethics and European integration founded in 1956.
Contents
History
The predecessor of OCIPE was founded in 1950 at the request of Strasbourg Bishop Jean-Julien Weber and with the initiative of lay Catholics dedicated to the cause of the emerging Europe (Pierre Pflimlin, Marcel Rudloff, Theo Braun), and Bishop Maurice NĂ©doncelle. A member of the "Conference of International Catholic Organizations" (OIC), it ceased operations in 1954 for lack of funds. In 1956, the Jesuits founded the "Catholic Office for Information on European Issues" (OCIPE) in Strasbourg. Its purpose has been to establish a research and documentation center on European issues, placing itself at the disposal of national and international Catholic organizations to inform them about the activities of European institutions and to facilitate their participation in these activities.
From 1963, besides Strasbourg activity, primarily with the Council of Europe, OCIPE opened an office in Brussels for the institutions in the European Community.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, OCIPE opened in 1990 offices in Budapest and Warsaw, and on 7 March 1990 changed its name to "Catholic Office of Information and Initiative for Europe."
In January 2012, the Society of Jesus in Europe created the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), located in Brussels and under the Chairman of the Conference of European Jesuit Provincials. The Brussels team OCIPE merged into JESC and, in parallel, teams of OCIPE in Budapest and Warsaw were transformed into social centers attached to local provinces of the Society of Jesus.
Mission
OCIPE's mission is to carry out studies and analyses on politics and decision-making, economics and society, for the European Union, as well as on changes in mentality, customs, and religiosity in Europe.
On 2 May 1967, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Office, Pope Paul VI sent the message:
The Holy Father, you know, has repeatedly drawn attention of Christians to the extreme importance of international work in the world today. This is often seen regarding Europe in particular, and most recently the intense interest with which the Holy See follows and encourages all those who work for the blessed and peaceful future of this continent so rich in history. It can therefore only welcome the contribution made by OCIPE [...], reflection and action of Christians to promote the achievement of the European common good and ensure the influence of spiritual values through new institutions to implement this.
The object of OCIPE as defined 7 March 1990 is to
establish a research center, information, and documentation on European issues and to promote Christian thinking in particular by means of lectures, group work, and publications. Also to be available to Catholic organizations, national and international, to inform on the activities of various government and private bodies working in Europe.
OCIPE participates in the work of the European Union, such as contributing to the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
At the end of 2012, OCIPE launched the project "Education and Active Citizenship in the European context." This project was taken up by JESC through a symposium held on 31 January 2013 with the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels, then by OCIPE as co-organizer with the European Union of Former Students of Catholic Education (UNAEC) in a Strasbourg conference on 12 June 2013.
In January 2013, after the creation of Jesuit European Social Centre, OCIPE returned to its first mission among European circles in Strasbourg, including the Council of Europe. Once again a group consisting largely of lay people, it remains in close relationship with the Jesuits.
Leaders
Successive presidents of OCIPE have been Alexander Grunelius (elected in 1956), Émile Baas, Jacques Grosclaude, Jean Schlick (1982-1988), and Laurent Gregoire after 1988.
Successive directors of OCIPE were Albert Le Roy (Jesuit, 1956-1958), Emile Gabel (Assumptionist, 1958-1960), former director of the newspaper Cross, Jean Weydert (Jesuit, 1960-1981), Tegvev Gabor (1982-1991), Jef van Gerwen (Jesuit, 1991-1992), Jean-Mathieu Lochten (Jesuit, 1992-1995), Pierre de Charentenay (Jesuit, 1997-2003); finally, before becoming editor of the magazine Studies, Jan Kerkhofs (Jesuit, 2003-2005), and then Frank Turner (Jesuit, 2005-2012).
Publications
From 1959 to 1978 OCIPE published in French and German the Letter of OCIPE which became in June 1978 the French Target Europe and the German Projekt Europa.
In January 1999, the magazine of OCIPE merged with that of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) to give birth to Europe Infos, the joint review of both organizations. Since 2012, Europe Infos is an electronic monthly newsletter published by COMECE and the JESC.