England: festival and donations for vocations London’s Westminster Diocese has launched a fund-raising program to cover the training of over 40 seminarians at Allen Hall, the Diocese’ seminary. The fund-raising program coordinator Charles Donington said the program includes a video that can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/10958831 while the diocese’ parishes will be holding fund-raising initiatives on April 24 and 25. The support to future priests holds special relevance to the light of the recent reports on abuse by priests, which highlighted the importance of identifying the motivations of vocations also with the support of experts. The fund-raising initiative of the diocese of Westminster coincides with the World Day for vocation and lies within the framework of the Year for the Priesthood inaugurated by the Pope past June 16. With four thousand posters and informative leaflets distributed across parishes, universities and schools the Church wishes to encourage the youth to reflect on their vocation. The statement announcing the Day of Vocations issued by the Catholic Church also refers to the forthcoming visit of Benedict XVI to England and Scotland next September, "an event that a large number of youth look forward to with great enthusiasm". "Invocation 2010", the first festival for the discernment of the vocation of young Catholics due to be held in July, dedicated to all those yearning to delve into the possibility of the calling to religious life, will constitute a significant opportunity for priests and consecrated lay people to bear witness of their vocation to the young. Speakers at the festival include Catholic Primate Msgr. Vincent Nichols, abbot Christopher Jamison and sister Gabriel Davison, a Clarissian nun. Priests, friars, monks religious and seminarians will join them from all over England and Wales. Belgium: euro regional youth festival On April 24 the Euro-regional day of the youth will take place in Maastricht, with attendants from the neighbouring German dioceses of Munster and Achen, from the Belgian ones of Liège and Hasselt and from the Dutch diocese of Roermond. The occasion is given by the 450th anniversary of the erection of the Dutch diocese. The youth are invited to address the themes of "light and encounter". The initiative is scheduled at 12 at the Notre Dame cathedral to the presence of the auxiliary bishop of Roermond, Msgr. Everard de Jong and of the mayor of Maastricht. The afternoon programs include thematic sessions on music, singing, debate, body language, prayer and dance. A Mass celebrated at 5.00 pm and a dinner will conclude the event. Before 1559 the diocese of Liége comprised the area of Roermond and other German and Dutch dioceses that will are expected to attend the Day. Ensuing the 1559 Reformation the diocese of Liège was branched into the dioceses of Roermond, Hasselt, Munster and Namur. For this reason Roermond invited those dioceses with which it shares a common past to attend the commemorations. Involving the youth to the festival means that "in the Church there are no borders and that there is place for everyone". Italy: CEI, national conference on "Digital witnesses"The national CEI conference: "Digital testimonies. Faces and languages in the era of cross-media communication" is taking place in Rome until April 24. In the presentation to the press Msgr. Domenico Pompili, CEI Undersecretary and CEI spokesperson said, "Internet has changed not only the way in which we communicate but also the way in which information is conveyed, and most of all it has changed affective relations. This awareness has led the Church to explore the potentials of the ‘digital continent’ for Gospel proclamation". This is the ambit that will be addressed by 1200 participants from 227 Italian dioceses in the event that will be opened by Nicholas Negroponte, one of the most renowned international experts in Internet and new technologies. The last day of the meeting participants will be received in audience by Benedict XVI in the Paul VI Hall, some 8 thousand media and culture workers from 36000 Italian parishes are expected. Panellists include, among others, the editor-in-chief of the Italian daily ‘La Stampa’ Mario Calabresi, sociologist Chiara Giaccardi, the Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi, the founder of "The star quest production network" Roderick Vonhogen, and CEI president cardinal Angelo Bagnasco. The entire conference can be viewed in streaming by logging on: www.testimonidigitali.it.
