IN BRIEF
Germany: stepping up health care for illegal immigrantsOn the occasion of the international day of Human Rights, the Churches, jointly with Federal Germany’s Medical Association (Bäk), called for greater medical assistance to immigrants who are without a residence permit. “In compliance with art. 2 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, we request medical assistance for all citizens; regardless of race, age, country or social status”, said Frank Ulrich Montgomery, Bäk human rights coordinator, in an interview with Catholic German Press agency Kna on December 9 in Hamburg. “Given the low number of illegal immigrants treated in medical centres, it is evident that not all are enjoying medical care”, claimed Walter Brandstadter, Bäk vice-President. According to estimates, in Germany there are up to one million illegal immigrants. Fanny Dethloff, refugee coordinator for the Lutheran-Evangelical Church of northern Elbe (Nek), pointed out that human rights are binding international laws, and are thus enforceable regardless of a residence permit. For this reason, both the Medical Association and NEK called for a political solution granting medical care to illegal immigrants. “Most of them don’t see a doctor for fear of being sent out of the country”, Montgomery declared, and proposed to implement the solution adopted in the Netherlands. Montgomery expressed his appreciation of the Catholic organization of the Malteser, granting medical care to migrants. However, he called for “subsidies for migrants’ health care, which will enable them to see a doctor without having to worry about their legal residence status”. Since 2001 to date, the Malteser have granted medical care to some 15,000 patients across ten German cities. England and Wales: an eco-sustainable monastery It’s the first eco-friendly monastery provided with a reed sewer, grass roofs, solar panels, and nature-friendly green and wood boiler. It is the home of the Benedictine nuns of Our Lady of Consolation who decided to leave the magnificent Victorian Stanbrook Abbey, in Worcestershire, in centre west England, for the modest home that is located within the premises of North York Moors national park, in the far north of England. This Benedictine family has a 385-year-long history and has lived in 5 different monasteries. This latest transfer is due to a drop in vocations. It has become impossible for twenty-two nuns and two novices to keep up with the old monastery’s expenses. “We run an excessively-large building whose maintenance requires thousands of pounds, while its gas and fuel heating pollute the environment”, explained the abbess of Stanbrook Andrea Savage. The nuns tasked the “Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios” architects with designing a simple building in harmony with the environment. The result is a small monastery with thirty rooms, Internet access for the nuns, a Church, a library and a hall for fifteen people.Portugal: social agreement on schools A few days ago, on the occasion of a meeting with the minister of Education, Portugal’s Teachers’ Union engaged in a joint reflection with the President of the Bishops Conference (CEP), Msgr. Jorge Ortiga, on the current state of education and the main problems affecting national school. The spokesperson of the teachers’ association Mário Nogueira, highlighted the meaning of dialogue with CEP: “We believe the Church can give a significant contribution to the recovery of a peaceful atmosphere in the school environment. This meeting was not requested to ask support to our claims. Rather, it is our belief that this encounter will help the government address the current educational problems with greater emphasis”. On his part, Msgr. Ortiga declared: “the Portuguese Church expresses its concern over the issues debated in the realm of education and wishes that a solution be found as soon as possible”. The President recalled, “in the latest plenary Assembly of November, CEP drew up a Pastoral Letter on Schools which states that the doctrine of the Church is based on the interest for the individual”. “At this stage” – he concluded – “it is imperative to reach a social contract, since the schools exist only in reason of its pupils who are presently undergoing the greatest difficulties”.
