Italy: 10th National Conference of the youth”And he took care of him – Meeting the youth up to the farthest borders”. This is the topic of the 10th National Meeting for the Pastoral Care of the youth held in Salsomaggiore on January 23-27 on the initiative of the National Service of the Italian Bishops Conference for the pastoral care of the youth. “The conference precedes July’s (15-20) major event, the WYD of Sydney”, said Father Nicolò Anselmi, who directs the Service. “This is the major event of the second of the three-year Pastoral plan that the Italian Church envisaged for Italian youth: the ‘Agorà’ of Italian youth”. A number of personalities will be delivering their speeches in the meeting of Salsomaggiore like the directors of departments of the Italian Bishops Conference, Vittorio Sozzi from the cultural project, Father Nico Dal Molin, from the vocations centre, Msgr.Sergio Nicolli from the pastoral care of the family, Father Vincenzo Annicchiarico, from the office for the teaching of Catholic religion and Msgr. Giancarlo Perego from the Italian Caritas. “In this way we intend to place the youth at the center of the process which follows the wake of Verona’s Conference”, Father Anselmi explained. “It’s significant that Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of Italy’s Bishops Conference, will be addressing the topic of the ‘Agorà’ of Italian youth”. The program envisages also the intervention of sport personalities, educators, and people working in the youth environment. Workshops along with music and theatre events are also scheduled. The responsibles for European Pastoral Care of the youth have also been invited.Belgium: youth and sexualityCourses of sexuality and affective life promoted for young people aged 18 to 35 by the Catholic Church of Belgium, and the theme chosen this year will be that of “sexual identity”. For the second year on end, the Pastoral office for the young and the “Word of Life” community (related to Charismatic Renewal) have set up a meeting for the young in Notre-Dame de Fichermont for a week-end (23 and 24 February) of training in love and sexuality. “The proposal – reads a release relayed by the Catholic agency Cathobel – intends to offer the young an opportunity to reflect on the subjects of sexuality and affective life and to discover the positive message of the Church on this subject”. The subject chosen this year is that of “identity”, because – reads the release – “the western world, as it lacks so many points of reference, often questions the truth of the creation of the human being, man and woman. This has practical consequences on the life of the individuals, of society and the States. Therefore, it is urgent for Christians to be able to discuss it”. The lectures – alternating with moments of insight and questions and answers sessions – will be held by mgr. Francois Duthel, of the diocese of Lyons, who currently works at the Vatican Secretariat of State and teaches moral theology in Lyons and Rome.Scotland: 2008 under the banner of mmigrationA Sunday devoted to justice and peace. This is how the Catholic Church of Scotland began the New Year by devoting Epiphany celebrations to topics relating to immigration. In a pastoral letter sent to all parish Churches, bishop Peter Moran, President of the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Bishops Conference, recalled that the three Magi Kings were exploited by King Herod to find out where Jesus was forcing the Sacred Family into exile. Immigrants are driven by the quest for better working conditions. Others, like political refugees, are driven by desperation”. A “smile to immigrants that Catholic Scotsmen encounter in restaurants and shops” is a “significant gesture” for the promotion of peace and justice, Msgr. Moran declared. In his letter the bishop also encourages “the support to justice and peace groups present in many Parish Churches, their promotion in conversations with friends, along with fund collections organized by Parish Churches”. The purchase of eco-compatible products and keeping up with issues pertaining to justice and peace through websites and newspapers are other initiatives suggested by the prelate.Belgium: 75th anniversary of the Banneux apparitionsJanuary 15th took place of the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the apparitions at Banneux, a village 25 kilometres from Liege in Belgium, of the Virgin that showed herself to the little 11-year-old Mariette as the “Virgin of the Poor”. The first apparition of the Virgin in the garden of a poor house of working people, where the Beco family lived, dates back to 15th January 1933. In later apparitions, the Virgin asked that a water spring be dedicated to her, which she said was specially designed for “all the nations” and the “sick”. The healings began straightaway in that year. The apparitions of the Virgin were officially recognised by the bishop of Liege, mgr. Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs, in 1949, and since then Banneax has become a pilgrims’ destination. For the 75th anniversary, the bishop of Liege, mgr. Aloys Jousten, sent a letter to the diocese, read during the Sunday celebrations of 12th and 13th January. “At Banneax – writes the bishop -, the Virgin of the Poor shows us that there is a beatitude of the poor and invites the Christians of the diocese of Liege to be a fraternal Church, where everyone can be recognised and appreciated and can enjoy God’s joy, by working for the good of the poor”.
