England: greater commitment in the fight against povertyCard. Cormac Murphy-O’Connor joined faith leaders in urging world governments to take action in the fight against poverty. The event was held in London a few days ago. Participants marched from Whitehall to Lambeth Palace: here the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams and Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged world leaders to keep their promise of halving poverty by the year 2015, also in view of September’s United Nations summit. The Cardinal referred to his recent trip to South Africa, where he witnessed the serious living conditions of the many poor: “helping the poor and the outcast is an important trait of Christian vocation. The Church is on the forefront in supporting the suffering. This is a challenge for the entire international community. We must continue putting pressure on decision-makers and lead them to end world poverty. We have the means to address this terrible situation, but the promises made by governments ought to be kept”. The United Nation Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon called a UN summit on September 25 to analyse developments and financial commitments aimed at reaching the Millennium Objectives. According to a UN Report, despite the progress made to this regard by a number of Countries, areas like education and child death are still in need of recovery in many other Countries. Germany: concern for Iraqi Christians Msgr. Ludwig Schick, President of the Commission for the Universal Church of Germany’s Bishops’ Conference (Dbk), voiced his concern past July 23rd for the situation of Christians living in Iraq, many of whom have already fled the Country. “Some 800,000 Christians were still living there before the war. Today, there is less than half, since 400,000 have already left the Country”. “Some 10,000 of those who remained wish to leave the Country, 1000 of whom are directed to Germany”, he added. “Local Christians aren’t only hit by the civil war, like all Iraqis, they also undergo persecution because of their faith”, he remarked. Msgr. Schick urged German and European politicians to give asylum to Iraqi Christians. “Where else could they go? They can’t go to Islamic Countries. In fact, they wouldn’t be given hospitality as Christians. While the fact that Islamic Countries welcome their brothers in faith who fled from Iraq is to be praised”. Christians “need to have a permit”, he pointed out. “It must be said that according to Christian thought there should be no difference in the treatment of refugees, since these need to find help and shelter wherever they go. The differences, if any, must only regard temporary residence permits”. “The European Union must endeavour to put an end to the war in Iraq and do its utmost to stabilize the local conflict. All refugees, including Christians, should be able to return to their homelands soon. The EU must press for the respect of the Refugees’ Convention. All persecuted refugees have the right to a shelter”, he concluded. Portugal: priests with many parishes in Braga In an article published on the daily Diário do Minho, the archbishop of Braga, Msgr. Jorge Ortiga admitted that his archdiocese is marked by a drop in vocations: “there is an increasing number of priests who are in charge of 4-5 parishes simultaneously. However, we ought to face the future with hope and faith and get used to the idea that the figure of the parish priest will be increasingly less present”. “All of us, bishops, priests and lay people, – the primate of Braga wrote – ought to act as innovators, relinquishing past nostalgia and facing new pastoral challenges that will be fruitful only if we change our ecclesial attitude, focusing on ongoing formation and information directed to all faithful. Mostly, the Church ought to be dynamically capable of reposing trust and co-sharing responsibilities with other members of the People of God”. Before the present need for a reorganization of archpriesthoods and faced with the possibility of a further drop in vocations, Msgr. Ortiga remarked: “a serious and conscientious evangelization ought to take place in congregations, in order to promote the culture of vocations to ordained ministry, to consecrated life and to missionary experience. At the same time, efforts should aim at bringing out the qualities and the skills of lay workers in the different areas of pastoral care”. “All the congregation – the archbishop concluded – must feel involved in this evangelizing and co-responsible mission for its parish’ true dynamic effectiveness”.
