ECUMENISM
Syro-Orthodox: the dialogue continuesThe dialogue with the Syro-Orthodox Church continues. This is the positive balance drawn June 23rd by Msgr. Gerhard Feige, President of the working group “Eastern Churches” of Germany’s Bishops’ Conference. Msgr. Feige, who spoke in a ceremony held in Warburg to commemorate the Common Declaration on the challenges of pastoral care, drawn up 25 years ago by John Paul II and by the leader of the Syro-Orthodox Church Patriarch Ignazio Zakka I Iwas, underlined that “the moment has come to address the theological hanging issues pertaining to the dialogue”, namely “the question of ecclesiology”. “We are grateful of the fact that an international commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches was set up five years ago”, Feige said, acknowledging “broad agreement on the substance and mission of the Church”. Germany has become the homeland of many Christians of Syrian rite that fled from South-Eastern Syria and from Northern Iraq. For this reason, “the dialogue between Syro-Orthodox and Catholic faithful ought to be not only theological. Each needs to learn more about the other. In the past weeks one of the major concerns of our Syro-Orthodox brothers and sister Church was the legal dispute over the monastery of Mor Gabriel in Tur Abdin” (Turkey). “To this regard, since the beginning of past February, the Bishops’ Conference had expressed a firm position through its secretary, Fr. Hans Landendörfer SJ, who acted as spokesman of the interests of our sister Orthodox Church. According to the bishop, “the future of ecumenism largely depends on the image of the other that we will be able to transmit to the younger generations”. Mons. Feige said that for the future he “wishes even greater cooperation in the theological formation of priests and the teachers of religion”. German Churches: Sunday is a cultural wealthSunday is a cultural wealth for the whole of society. This is the stand of German Churches that conveyed concerns over of the new bill regulating Sunday opening hours for shops in Berlin, considered unconstitutional. On June 23rd, Cardinal Sterzkinsky, archbishop of Berlin, attended the hearing of the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe called to deliberate on the appeal filed by the Catholic and by the Protestant Churches. His Eminence pointed out that work-free Sunday cannot be restricted to the time of religious services and that it includes the entire day. During the hearing the archbishop of Berlin declared that Sunday isn’t marked by religious services only since “It comprises a series of social and family activities that also have a religious component. Working-Sunday makes it harder for workers and for their families to attend these activities, nor could they renounce them. And it’s useless to grant another free day”. According to German press agency KNA, Cardinal Sterzinsky underlined that the “measures” introduced “seriously undermine the protection of Sunday and of other religious festivities”. His Eminence referred in particular to the period of the Advent. “Those who promote Sunday work without there being serious reasons, are not only acting against religious rights. Indeed, they are acting against the social and cultural meaning of Sundays”, the Cardinal declared. Also the President of the Council of the German Evangelical Church (EKD), bishop Wolfgang Huber, described Sunday as “an important element of the existential culture of the Federal Republic” and “the day of the collective interruption from work”. Anglicans: economic crisis at the centre of the Synod The items on the Agenda of the forthcoming General Synod of the Church of England scheduled at York University next July 10-13 include the economic crisis, reduction in the number of clergy, the state of the relations with the Catholic Church, and the situation of childhood in Great Britain. The ongoing economic downturn and recession provide the opportunity for debate on the Christian Stewardship, the idea that man is sent by God to be responsible for the Creation. The Synod will have the opportunity to consider the current target of Church members giving 5% of their income to their local church. The motion from the Bradford Diocesan Synod invites the General Synod to request the Archbishops’ Council to formulate proposals for reductions in the number of Episcopal and senior clergy posts. There will also be opportunity for discussion of the Good Childhood report issued past February, that inquired on the difficult situation of childhood in Great Britain, due to high-divorce rates and widespread hedonism. There will also be a presentation and group work for Synod members on a report from the Council for Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Advisory Group, on the report from the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission on Life in Christ. The debate will provide the Synod with the opportunity to evaluate the state of the relations with the Catholic Church and the prospects of ecumenical dialogue.
