CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Germany: the “Spirit of Assisi” at MunichTen years since the 11 September attacks which “marked the beginning of a decade of conflict and war in the fight against terrorism”, the leaders of the world’s main religions, the heads of state, and men and women of culture will gather in Munich (Bavaria) from 11 to 13 September to take part in the Interreligious Meeting for Peace organised every year by the Community of Sant’Egidio, and this year by Card. Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich. The Meeting – the representatives of Sant’Egidio explained – is held “in the run-up to, and preparation for, the 25th anniversary of the historic meeting of Assisi, which provided the occasion for Pope Benedict XVI to invite the leaders of the world’s main religions to a great celebration in October”. The Meeting in Munich “will be held in a symbolic place, a crossroads of European history”, and has been enthusiastically received by the German authorities and the Bavarian Federal Government. Federal President Christian Wulff will kick off the Meeting on 11 September – ten years after the tragedy of New York and Washington. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the Plenary on 12 September. Many ministers are also expected to take part in the Meeting together with numerous religious leaders. Participants will include, for the Catholic Church, Cardinals Kurt Koch, Roger Etchegaray and Leonardo Sandri from different Vatican Dicasteries. Participants will also include Card. Crescenzio Sepe from Naples, Card. Philippe Barbarin from Lyons and Card. Péter Erdo from Budapest, alongside many representatives of the Christian Churches. Representing the Evangelical and Reformed Church will be, among others, EKD President Nikolaus Schneider. The Oriental and Orthodox Churches will send prestigious delegations, including highest-level delegations: His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Romania; and Archbishop Chrysostomos II, Primate of the Church of Cyprus. It is significant that even the Jewish and Muslim faiths will be well represented with large delegations, which shows an important commitment to dialogue. Among the most eminent representatives are the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Yona Metzger; of Rome, Riccardo di Segni; of Cologne, Jaron Engelmeyer; of the Russian Federation, Berl Lazar; and of Turkey, Isak Haleve. Representing the Muslim world will be Mohammed Rifaah al-Tahtawi, spokesman of the Egyptian University of Al-Azhar; the Grand Mufti of Sarajevo, Mustafa Ceric; and the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Mustafa Çagrici. Representatives of Japanese, Singhalese and Cambodian Buddhism will also be present together with representatives of ancient Indian religions, including Jainism and Parseeism, and of traditional religions such as Shintoism.Ukraine: the Primate on the problems with sectsUkrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) will be very merciful and open in approach to those who have been entrapped by sects, including that of “Pidhirtsi fathers” and it will give them a chance to return to the Church of Christ, to the Catholic church. This was announced by the Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, in an interview to the internet magazine “Zaxid.net”, answering a journalist’s question whether the Church has made arrangements against schismatics, like “Gognal’s group” (so called “Pidhirtsi fathers”) – unregistered and not officially recognized organisation in Ukraine. His Beatitude Sviatoslav warned that we are dealing with “very aggressive non-Christian techniques that aim to replace the spiritual life in its substance, creating an illusion of a mystical experience and having nothing to do with traditional Christianity”. According to the Head of UGCC such sectarian trends are a challenge for the Catholic church, inviting to be more effective in pastoral care, vigilance and activity. “We’ll keep on informing our faithful about the truth… We respect the right to religious freedom but in this case I think we should call things by their proper name and allow people to make a conscious choice”, concludes His Beatitude Sviatoslav.Czech Republic: conference on the BenedictinesAs part of the Benedictine Year, which began in the Czech Republic in April this year, an international conference on the Benedictines will be held at Trebic (south-west Moravia) from 15 to 16 September. The conference will examine the daily life of the Benedictines, their spirituality, and also their architecture and interconnections with the Czech city. “Thanks to its strategic position and the generosity of its founders, the Moravian royal dynasty of Premysl, the Benedictine monastery founded in Trebic in 1101 became an important centre of spirituality and culture”, explains Pavel Dolezal, Rector of the University of Western Moravia. Professors and university students, and also anyone interested in the Benedictine Rule, can take part in the conference. A guided visit to the Romanesque St. Procopius Basilica and a concert of the Gregorian School of St. Michael in Brno are also included in the programme of the conference. A book written by Anselm Grün, famous Benedictine monk and author of scores of publications, will also be published in the Czech Republic to mark the occasion.
