Czech Republic: 80th plenary meeting of the bishops On April 20-21 the 80th Plenary meeting of the Czech Bishops’ Conference will take place in Prague. The major superiors of male and female religious orders will attend it, among others. On April 19, a solemn Mass for the 5th anniversary of the pontificate of Benedict XVI will be celebrated in the city’s cathedral. Msgr. Vojtech Cikrle, bishop of Brno, will deliver the opening remarks, followed by the speech of the new archbishop of Prague, Msgr. Dominik Duka on the national and international situation, the Press Office of the Czech bishops referred. The following themes will be addressed during the two-day meeting: “The Bible for the Young”, the 2010 pastoral plan on the Holy Scriptures and the Second Vatican Council, the catechesis for Roma people and the preparations for the Congress on Divine Mercy due to be held in 2011. During the plenary the bishops plan to elect the new president who will replace Msgr. Jan Graubner, whose second mandate has expired. The new president will meet journalists on April 21st in a press conference on the outcomes of the meeting. Albania: 150 years of the seminary and the solidarity with the Pope Albania celebrated the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the National Pontifical Seminary in the city of Shkodër, where the Seminary is located, on April 16 – with reflections on priestly service by bishops and priests – and on April 17 – attended by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. His Eminence presided over a Eucharistic celebration in Shkodër’s cathedral attended by the Country’s bishops, and by the bishops from the Albanian areas of Kosovo and Montenegro. On April 18 the Cardinal presided over a mass in St. Paul’s Cathedral in Tirana, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the pontificate of Benedict XVI. In the welcoming greetings to the Cardinal, Msgr. Rrok Mirdita, archbishop of Tirana-Durrës, President of Albania’s Bishops’ Conference, conveyed the fidelity of the Church of Albania to the Holy Father, “which has been ongoing even during the Communist persecutions”. In his homily His Eminence recalled the Mass for the inauguration of the pontificate of Benedict XVI and delved into the images of the fisherman shepherds offered in the Sunday Gospel readings. The cardinal reaffirmed his “solidarity to the Holy Father and to his mission as Pastor of the Church”. In Albania, the Prefect of the Congregation pointed out, “an obscurantist ideology wished to cancel God from men’s hearts with force, and annihilate the importance of the Roman Pontiff and of his teachings. Today I gladly convey here with you in Tirana my gratitude to the Lord for the gift of Peter and of his successors. And in particular today I thank the Lord for having bestowed upon us five years ago the gift of the current Pontiff Benedict XVI. It is with happiness that we jointly convey our full communion with Him. In particular we wish to convey our filial solidarity to the Holy Father for the unjust and slanderous attacks he has been a victim of over the past days”.Germany: the “Festival of Faith” in Trier The “Heilig-Rock-Tage”, the festival of faith of Trier, was inaugurated on April 16. This year’s edition, ongoing for 10 days, focuses on the special relationship between the dioceses and Bolivia. In fact, for 50 years Trier has been supporting projects in the Country, which is among the poorest in South America. The partnership began in 1960 with the commitment of Msgr. Matthias Wehr, the then bishop of the German city, and of the then bishop of Sucre Msgr. Jose Clemente Maurer, for the realization of pastoral structures in Bolivia. In the following years many projects were implemented with the cooperation of different organizations. Today the trail of Germany’s support is to be seen across the entire country. Some 80% of the Bolivian population describe themselves as Catholic, but the Church has to face the competition of Evangelical sects which are very active, especially in the social and educational environments. Bolivia is forced to address ongoing social tensions. Only three out of ten workers can live on their salary, while many families depend on the remittance of relatives living abroad. Also the global crisis has its effects: these phenomena are monitored by the ecclesial institution Fundacion Jubileo in La Paz, which representatives of the diocese of Treviri will visit with their colleagues from the diocese of Hildesheim, that also has a partnership with Bolivia.
