Germany, Portugal, Anglicans

Germany: ecumenical aid for the synagogueFinancial aid for the Jewish community: the Jewish community of Osnabrück has received financial support from Catholics and Evangelicals for the re-construction of a synagogue, re-opened on 3 February. On 5 February, representatives of the two Churches in fact handed over to the head of the Jewish community, Michael Grünberg, a cheque for roughly 33,000 Euro. In the previous weeks, Catholics and Evangelicals had run a fund-raising campaign in aid of the synagogue in their own communities of the city and district of Osnabrück. The gesture was an “ecumenical signal”, said Burghard Krause, head of the Lutheran-Evangelical Church of Osnabrück. Catholic Vicar Hermann Wieh reported that the funds raised in the two communities were considerably more than usual. During the work of extension and reconstruction of the synagogue and its communal facilities, the diocese of Osnabrück placed its own facilities at the centre of the city at the disposal of the Jewish community for roughly a year and a half. In recent years the Jewish community has significantly grown as a result of the arrival of Jews from Eastern Europe; it now comprises some one thousand members and thus represents the second largest Jewish community in Lower Saxony. Portugal: Taizé meeting at OportoSome six thousand young people have already enrolled in the Iberian Youth Meeting due to be held in the city of Oporto from 13 to 16 February. The event, part of the “Mission 2010” programme of the Portuguese city, has been promoted by the secretariats of Youth and University Ministry, in collaboration with the ecumenical community of Taizé. Apart from Portuguese youth (1000 from Oporto itself, some 600 from Lisbon, 200 from Coimbra, 250 from Algarve), the largest national representations, from a total of 25 countries, are those from France, Germany, Poland and Spain (several thousands from each). All these youth will be guests of the 900 families that have agreed to offer them free board and lodging. The programme of the event includes days of prayer, social interaction, reflection and learning. The welcoming ceremony for the Taizé youngsters will be held on 13 February in the community centre of the Oporto Football Club, where the Notebook of the Meeting and the Letter from China, written by Brother Alois, Prior of the Taizé Community, will be distributed to the participants. On the following days, the young pilgrims will participate in parish Eucharists, and later meet together to discuss how to tackle various questions: “Making a choice between our desires”, “Sharing what we possess”, “Deepening our faith in God and renewing our courage”. An open dialogue with the Bishop of Oporto, the Most Rev. Manuel Clemente will be held in the church of S. Bento da Vitória on the afternoon of 14 February. The dialogue will focus on the question: “Is it possible to live in happiness?” Further information on how to participate in and the programme of the Iberian Meeting can be found on the website: http://www.taize.fr/pt.Anglicans: towards legislation on women bishops There will be no special measure to accommodate those parishes that are against the ordination of women bishops, that is, no independent bishops or separated dioceses within the Church of England. This is the conclusion reached by the “Revision Committee” entrusted by the Anglican Church with the task of finding a solution that could accommodate those who could not accept the ordination of women bishops and wanted to be granted independence in the event of the appointment of a woman bishop. Yesterday afternoon, Nigel Mc Culloch, Bishop of Manchester and president of the Committee, took stock of the work of the Committee in his speech to the General Synod (gathered in London until 12 February). The decision to allow the ordination of women has caused an uproar among the most conservatives members of the Anglican Church who had asked for permission not to serve under them. “After more than six months’ work we had rejected all the options which would have involved conferring some measure of jurisdiction on someone other than the diocesan bishop”, concluded Bishop Mc Culloch. In other words, the decision is up to diocesan bishops – be they male or female. In the next few months, the Synod will pronounce itself on the legislation previously examined by the Revision Committee.