CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Ireland: 2 January, day of prayer for the countryA Sunday of prayer and solidarity for Ireland will be celebrated throughout the country on 2 January, the first Sunday of the year. The aim of the prayer day announced by the Irish bishops is to “encourage the political community itself and all Irish citizens to rally the human, social, intellectual and spiritual resources of our country in a united effort to build our financial economy and ensure it achieves its human and social ends”. The Irish bishops convey this message of “hope” in a statement to the nation (with the title “Helping each other, there is Hope”) issued at the end of the plenary assembly of the Irish Bishops’ Conference at Maynooth on 14 December. The bishops express their solidarity with the Irish people. “We are conscious – they write – that the recent dramatic events in our national economy have given rise to exceptional levels of fear, anger and disillusionment. Demands for assistance with basic things like food, fuel and clothing from organizations such as Saint Vincent de Paul are up as much as 35% from this time last year”. In Northern Ireland, the number of the homeless has almost doubled over the last six years. “The spectre of high levels of unemployment confronts our nation once again, with its demoralising impact on individuals and communities and the upheaval of emigration facing many Irish families”. The bishops also express their concern about “the unexpected levels of debt” that is weighing down on large numbers of people” and the growing fears among people of “losing their home, or the prospect of losing their job, the dread of their business failing or the impact of cuts to their pay, pension or benefits”. Faced by the “inevitable pain of the current situation”, the bishops remind the whole nation of the “urgent task of building a more just, sustainable and prosperous future”. And in the run-up to Christmas, they make a particular appeal: “We pray for a renewal of confidence in our ability to work together for the good of all and to address the adverse circumstances that confront our nation at this time. The people of Ireland have always shown resilience when faced with situations of great challenges in the past. We believe in our ability as a nation to address the challenges that confront us now”. Finally, the bishops in their message call for “responsible cooperation with European governments and institutions”. “This engagement – they write – is part of a wider solidarity in which we participate, both as contributors and recipients”.Switzerland: 12,000 signatures in support of displaying the Crucifix12,000 signatures to say that “Crucifixes must remain, and also be displayed in public places without any reservation”: that, in sum, is the message sent out by the petition “Let the crucifix remain”, that was launched at the end of October and that was handed over to the Swiss authorities in Lucerne yesterday. The collection of signatures followed a ‘conflict’ on the display of the Cross in the schools of Stalden and Triengen. According to Gerardo Rafctfa, spokesman of the committee that is promoting the petition, “prohibiting the Cross or the Crucifix in public places would be an expression not of tolerance, but of intolerance. For the Cross belongs to the Christian tradition of our country”. According to the data furnished by the Committee, 60% of the signatures come from the canton of Lucerne but support also came from other cantons. Signatures arrived from France, Germany and Italy. The petition was delivered to the Council of State in Lucerne. Belarus: a 2010 rich in eventsIn recent day, the Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk met representatives of the press at the metropolitan curia of the archdiocese of Minsk-Mahilyow for the usual Christmas briefing, in which the main events in the life of the Belorussian Church in 2010 were reviewed. “Today it’s impossible to imagine the Church without the mass media”, said the archbishop. He also underlined the usefulness of such meetings, especially when they occur in important liturgical periods like Advent. Among the events in the life of the Church in 2010 Archbishop Kondrusiewicz cited the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in April, during which, he said, “all the pilgrims were touched by this magnificent opportunity to discover the places in which Jesus Christ lived”. Other “milestones” in 2010 included the Jubilee of the sanctuary of Rubiazhevichy and the 300th anniversary of the consecration of the arch-cathedral of Minsk dedicated to the Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “This was an event of particular importance – the metropolitan recalled – and one emphasized by the presence of the Pope’s envoy, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, who spoke in the Belorussian language in addressing the congregation: a sign of respect for the Belorussian nation and its culture”. Mgr. Kondrusiewicz also spoke of the visit of Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, to Hrodna, where he met religious, youth and exponents of the world of science and culture, and where he consecrated deacons and seminarians. Finally Archbishop Kondrusiewicz mentioned the accord between Belarus and the Holy See, the fruits of which will be expressed, in particular – he said – in the field of science, education and culture.
