England, Croatia, Ukraine

England: a new translation of the Roman missal By Advent this year the new translation of the Roman Missal, ongoing since 2002, when the new Latin edition of the Missal was published, will be available in England and Wales. The Holy See has given its recognitio on the text that will be gradually introduced in parishes starting in the month of September, before its official publication. From September to December, states a communiqué of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, there will be Catechesis in parishes both “on the new translation” and “on the Mass itself”. To assist parishes and other communities to prepare for the new translation the interactive DVD Become One Body One Spirit in Christ has already been sent out to dioceses. Further information on the website: www.missal.org.uk. Bishop Arthur Roche, bishop of Leeds and chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship said the text “is a tremendous opportunity for the Church in England and Wales to learn about our faith and the Mass”. “The new translation is a great gift to the Church” – continues Msgr. Roche – “The Mass is at the heart of what the Church is, it is where we deepen our faith in Christ and are nourished by him so that we can glorify the Lord by our lives”. According to the prelate, the new translation “is more faithful to the Latin text and therefore a text which is richer in its theological content and allusions to the scriptures”. “I believe it will stir people’s hearts and minds to prayer”, he concluded.Croatia: card. Bozanic meets premier KosorA few days ago the archbishop of Zagreb, cardinal Josip Bozanic, received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Jadranka Kosor at his residence. The forthcoming visit of Benedict XVI to Croatia on June 4-5 2011, the ongoing preparations and those already completed were among the topics discussed during the meeting. The Prime Minister informed His Eminence on the status of the final phase of Croatia’s EU accession negotiations, along with the economic, social and demographic projects undertaken by the government. Topical issues bearing special relevance for Croatian citizens were also discussed during the meeting. Cardinal Bozanic thanked the Premier for his commitment for the Croatian people. The program of the papal Visitation was released past December 20. Meetings with the president of the Republic of Croatia Ivo Josipovic, and with Prime minister Kosor have been scheduled for the event along with meetings with representatives of the cultural and political world, of entrepreneurship and civil society, as well as with the diplomatic corps and the superiors of Croatia’s religious community. The theme of the visit is “Together in Christ”. At the end of the first day the Pope will preside over a vigil with the youth in the main square of Zagreb. The major event of the pastoral visit will be the Eucharistic celebration on the occasion of the national meeting of Croatian Catholic families, scheduled for June 5 in the capital. Before leaving the Country, the Pope will pray at the tomb of Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac.Ukraine: 20 years since the restoration of the Catholic Church”We are grateful to God for the restoration of Church structures”, for “the witness of ministers and bishops”, for “the spiritual stature and the social participation of religious and lay people, renowned personalities and strangers who accompanied the progress and fortification of the Church in Ukraine in recent years”. Thus declared in a pastoral letter to the faithful the bishops of the Ukrainian Roman Catholic Church on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the restoration of the Church in the Country (January 16 1991). Glancing at the past, the prelates remarked, “God does not guide human action in a way that human criteria can understand”. With the expulsion of the last archbishop Yevhen Bazyak from Lviv in 1946 it seemed that “the Roman Catholic Church in this Country would be destroyed. During the years of Communism each funeral celebrated by a priest led to the closure of the relative church. Many priests were persecuted, exiled or stripped of their right to perform their ministry”. Nonetheless, the Church could “resist”. On January 16 1991 John Paul II restored the archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church of Lviv and appointed the first metropolitan bishop, the 43rd in the history of the diocese, archbishop Marian Jaworski, elected cardinal in 2001, to whom succeeded Msgr. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, who is currently in office. At a later stage, the diocesan structure of Zhytomyr and Kamenets-Podilskyy were also reinstated.