With the distribution of 500,000 flyers with appeals for prayer throughout the parishes of Holland, the Dutch Catholic Church has launched the biggest prayer campaign in its history. From Friday 30 May to Saturday 7 June the faithful will pray, individually or in groups in the parishes, to invoke the power of the Holy Spirit on the community of Dutch Catholics. This particular initiative forms part of the wider campaign “Catholics with heart and soul”, which will culminate with a celebration in Utrecht on 7 June. Also forming part of the campaign, which began in the Netherlands at the beginning of the year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in the country, are the visit by auxiliary bishop E.J. de Jong, delegate of the Dutch Bishops’ Conference for youth pastoral care and education, to the UNHCR refugee camp in Malawi, Africa, from 13 to 17 May, and the collection of funds by the Mensen in Nood (people in need) Association on 24 and 25 May. The problem of refugees is one of the key issues being addressed by the “Catholics with heart and soul” campaign. The refugee camp in Malawi contains some 10,000 displaced people from Congo, Ruanda and Burundi. The Mensen in Nood association supports the work of the Jesuit Refugee Service, which is promoting the education of children and adults in the camp. The money collected will be handed over to Ruud Lubbers, deputy premier and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, at Utrecht on 7 June.
