Federal feast: the bishops’ letter”Our society and our church are not reconciled. In Switzerland not everything is in harmony”, wrote the Swiss bishops in their pastoral letter for the Federal feast of grace, penance and prayer due to be celebrated September 19-20. The bishops called for reconciliation and forgiveness, denouncing “existing tensions between the Swiss population and immigrants, between the German and the French speaking cantons, along with ongoing conflicts and mobbing on the workplace, clashes at political level, in the family, between parents and children; disagreements over inheritances, and increasing number of divorces. As bishops we witness Catholics’ intransigence towards a different conception of our faith due to controversies in parishes and dioceses”. “As baptized persons and as a Church – the bishops wrote – we have a mission of reconciliation, that is all the more urgent in this globalized world”. According to the prelates, the commitment for reconciliation ought to stem from those places “where something can truly be done”. “It’s an illusion – they declared – to envision great international gestures of reconciliation and pacifism. Our actions ought to concretely address the environment, our family and friends, the workplace, our parishes, along with the larger political and ecclesial realms. Our efforts for reconciliation and the fruits it will bear will be felt also elsewhere”. However, the first step “is to be reconciled with ourselves, admitting our own mistakes” also through “conscience-examination” and by overcoming “past resentment and hurt”. Only through self-reconciliation is it possible to forgive. But forgiveness is also a gift of God, rediscovered in the sacrament of Reconciliation. Hence the prelates’ exhortation to revaluate forgiveness: “we believe that the greater the number of those that will receive God’s forgiveness, the more reconciliation will spread among mankind. A man that is reconciled with God is reconciled with himself and with others”. The letter will be read at Mass on September 19 and 20 in churches across the Country.The media: linking native and migrant Catholics“The media: a bridge linking native and migrant Catholics? The quest for new developments”. This was the theme of the seminar, held a few days ago in Berna, promoted by the Swiss Bishops’ Conference (Migratio) chaired by the newly appointed national director Marco Schmid. Recent surveys “have shown that the media increasingly marginalize foreigners by depicting them with negative connotations”, said Constanze Jecker, from the University of Freiburg. “Foreigners are depicted but are not enabled to express their views”. It is necessary that they be “objectively portrayed” while “involving an increasing number of media workers with migrant backgrounds”. Mike Qerkini collaborator of Kosovo-Albanian origin of Forum Kirche – the newsletter of the Schaffhausen and Turgau parishes – presented the project “Churches without borders”, a column where young Catholics from different countries write about the religious traditions of their countries of origin, about migration issues, or report on ethnic missions. “This is a way to enable Catholics with migrant backgrounds to be heard while involving the new generations to act as a bridge uniting the various language communities”. Ann-Katrin Gässlein presented the preliminary results of a survey requested by Migratio regarding newsletters and bulletins of foreign-language missions abroad. “In general – she said – the faithful with immigrant family backgrounds are not sufficiently representedm, while contacts and cooperation between Swiss and foreign-language mission bulletins are scarce. Greater cooperation would be a source of enrichment”. The need for new forms of encounter between Swiss and migrant Catholics emerged in the final panel debate. “The media – the speakers said – ought to promote this path of communion since it is the future of the Church in Switzerland”.St. Gall, tolerance campA tent city will sensitize the youth on intercultural and religious coexistence. The initiative is promoted in the canton of Saint Gall, which on September 17-19 will host the “Respect Camp” in the premises of the Saint Gall abbey. The purpose of the event it to encourage debate on respect, tolerance, non-violence, and related topics. The initiative is organized by the youth pastoral offices of the Canton’s Churches and lies within the framework of the week for inter-religious dialogue. Switzerland has been witnessing increasing episodes of youth violence and in November a referendum will ask citizens to vote against the erection of minarets in the Country. Group visits to the tent camp last about one-and-a-half hours. Schools, youth movements and the Canton’s confirmation candidates – the event’s primary recipients – will be given a handbook with the program and schedule of the Camp’s events.
