Belgium: an appeal for shelter for refugeesIn the context of the crisis of housing for those in situations of precariousness, and of the particularly icy winter conditions this year, the Archbishop of Malines-Brussels, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, has launched an appeal on behalf of asylum-seekers called “Let’s find a place for asylum-seekers”. “With the onset of winter – says the cardinal – how can we fail to be concerned by the precarious situation in which persons awaiting the regularization [of their asylum application] are placed? This Christmas, I join with Caritas International and ask all parishes and Catholic institutions to seek spaces that are not being used as places of worship and could be made available to provide accommodation for these homeless brothers and sisters”. Cardinal Danneels adds: “I am conscious that not everything is possible, nonetheless I don’t want any repetition of what happened to Jesus in the manger, because there was no room for him in Bethlehem”. The cardinal’s appeal was immediately welcomed by the interdiocesan council of the laity, which lost no time in urging its members to give a positive response to the appeal and thus celebrate Christmas in a spirit of sharing and attention to the needs of our poorest fellowmen”.England: “at home” for ChristmasA special prayer to St. Monica, who prayed for years for the return of her son, St. Augustine, to the Christian faith, asking her to help those who no longer attend Mass to return to the Christian community, has been issued by CASE, the agency to support evangelization of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, as part of its campaign “Come Home For Christmas”, now in its third year. “The prayer forms part of a novena that ended on 20 December, in which all the groups of which Catholic mothers form part participated”, explains Clare Ward of CASE. “A survey conducted by the ‘Tear Fund’, an association aimed at helping people to get out of poverty, showed that there are three million Catholics in England and Wales who would return to the Church if someone were to invite them”, added Ward, who declared: “Many have contacted us, by telephone or e-mail, to let us know they have returned to the Church thanks to our campaign”. Again in the context of Catholic initiatives for Christmas, we may point out the project promoted by the website of the English bishops (Catholic-ew.org.uk) that proposes a re-reading of the Gospel passages relating to Advent through twenty-six famous films such as “Simon Birch”, “Bad Lieutenant”, “Lourdes”, “Beyond Rangoon”, “The Mission”, “At First Sight”, “Molokai”, “Babette’s Feast”, “Up”, “Jesus Son” and “Deep Impact”. The reflections, which can be downloaded from the web, are being led by Father Peter Malone, a film critic and former president of “Signis”, the Catholic World Association for Communication.Scotland-Ireland: Christmas, liturgy of hopeReflections focused on the theme of hope are bring proposed, through the website of the Irish bishops (Catholicbishops.ie), by the Archbishop of Dublin the Right Rev. Diarmuid Martin and by the Director of the National Centre for the Liturgy Father Patrick Jones. At the centre of this year’s prayers, in particular in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, are all those who have been adversely affected by the economic and financial crisis. As a concrete sign a fridge magnet has been distributed in an envelope accompanied by a quotation from St. Paul, a message from Bishop Moriarty and a prayer for families to be recited just before Christmas dinner. The hut of Bethlehem is at the centre of Christmas celebrations in the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The meaning of the initiative is explained by Peter Kearney, spokesman of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference: “Scotland is a very secularized society. That’s why it is significant that right from the start of Advent a hut symbolizing the birth of Jesus should have been placed in the middle of Princes Street, at the heart of Edinburgh, by Catholic Cardinal Keith O’ Brien and other religious leaders. The same happened in Glasgow, inaugurated in this case by Archbishop Mario Conti. The Nativity is still at the centre of Scottish civil life and many other Christmas cribs can be seen in public places throughout Scotland and in the homes of many families”.
