parishes" "
We continue our report on the experiences and projects of parish communities in European cities, large and small (the first part of our report was published in SirEurope 68/2003). Bulgaria, a “multinational” community. The parish of St. Joseph in Sofia is the only Catholic parish of Latin rite in the Bulgarian capital. Here communities of various nationality, with a large presence of Polish, Italians and Croat faithful, live happily together. To each of these groups a different pastoral programme is dedicated, each in its own language and tradition. For example, there’s “The hour with the Virgin Mary” for the Polish community, which is an hour of prayer and hymns dedicated to the Virgin. There’s the “Polish Sunday” and the “Italian Sunday” (when fellow-nationals who live outside the city also congregate). The Croats have an organization called “Janevo” which coordinates their activities, while the Poles have their own “Polish Catholic Mission”. “The priests who work with us explains the parish priest, Father Cristoforo Kujok must be very open-minded to be able to communicate with and accept the various mentalities, traditions and cultures”. “One difficulty continues Father Kujok is that the parishioners are scattered throughout the city and this prevents many from participating more actively in parish life. Then there’s the tendency to dedicate the weekend to vocational courses, excursions, picnics, etc.” Another problem is the anonymity of parishioners in a big city. In Sofia there are many Catholics who have problems with their religious identity due to the many years spent in the shadow of Communism. Now, the hope is that the construction of the new cathedral may help to reinforce the identity of the city’s Catholics. To help them deepen their faith there’s also so-called “catechesis” for adults, in which Orthodox believers and even atheists curious to know more about the Christian faith and the Catholic Church also participate. “We don’t make conversions insists Father Cristoforo but gladly instruct in the faith and are happy if the Orthodox desire to return to the Orthodox Church after having rediscovered their faith”. Unfortunately, since Bulgaria is a country with a Catholic minority, the documents of the Magisterium, and new books, arrive with considerable delay. That’s why the parish becomes important also as a centre of communication with the rest of the Catholic world. Italy, priests and laity on the radio and “on line”. At Nichelino, in the outskirts of Turin, there’s “a radio parish for those unable physically to frequent the real parish”. “In 1979 explains the parish priest Don Gariglio we started up the radio station with some parish animators: we didn’t have any big hopes of the venture, but since then it’s gathered its own momentum and no one has since succeeded in closing it down”. Over the years, Radio Nichelino Community has indeed become an inseparable part of the life of the district and now covers much of the region. “Right from the start adds Don Gariglio the radio has aimed to be a source of information and a means of cultural and religious assistance: a way of promoting community, dialogue and formation. What’s the secret? Acting as a mouthpiece of parish life for all those who, for various reasons, happen to be elsewhere”. The programmes include many features and also the transmission of two masses per day (broadcast live from the parish church). At the high points of the liturgical year, it also provides a programme of spiritual exercises for listeners to perform at home. Parish websites are also being set up in Italy. Thus, in the parish of Sant’Agostino di Modugno, diocese of Bari, with the slogan “A church outside the church”, the community has tried with its website www.parrocchiasantagostino.org to complement the parish hall (which regularly hosts evening events, cultural meetings and parish activities) with a ‘virtual’ meeting place, a way of reaching out to all those who cannot attend the parish in person. “We only began in February this year explains an educator but in these few months we have already started up several services on line, ranging from the regular feature ‘The parish priest replies’ to a mailing list dedicated to spirituality in Lent”. In the months ahead the site will boost its presence on the web with its insertion in the main search engines. The two experiences, the radio station and the website, were presented at the conference on “Parish and Communication” promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference from 12 to 14 October.
