CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Czech Republic: prayers for air disaster victimsThe bishops of the Czech Republic and Moravia have expressed sincere condolences to the families and friends of the 43 victims of the air disaster that happened close to Moscow, in Russia, and invited all the faithful in the country to pray for them. The tragedy happened on the afternoon of Wednesday 7 September; there are only two survivors. On board the plane that crashed soon after take off were the players and coaches of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Ice Hockey Club, including three Czech players and members of the Czech national ice hockey squad – Jan Marek, Josef Vaíèek and Karel Rachùnek; as well as the Slovak ice hockey star Pavol Demitra, and Russian, Swedish, Ukrainian, Belarussian and German players. Germany: the bishops on 11 Sept. and terrorismOn the eve of the tenth anniversary of 11 September, the German Bishops have issued a document reviewing anti-terrorism policy. The document, “Terrorism as ethical challenge. Human dignity and human rights”, was presented in recent days by the Archbishop of Bamberg, Ludwig Schick, who chairs the Commission for the Universal Church of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK). “There can be no legitimate defence against the terrorist threat without preserving human dignity and human rights”, declared Archbishop Schick. The document also underlines the pre-eminence of the principle of the prevention of violence over recourse to violence: “however incontestable it is that in some situations military measures are inevitable to prevent the worst, the primary objective remains that of forestalling and interrupting the spiral of violence with measures of prevention”. According to the bishops, terrorism can be effectively combated only by overcoming the violent relations and improving the unacceptable living conditions that exist in vast areas of the world. “If the struggle against terrorism involves an impoverishment or violation of international law”, warned the archbishop, “the world will be even less secure than it was before”. Austria: campaign to “rediscover prayer””How to pray?” is the title of a campaign launched in the diocese of St. Pölten to help Catholics rediscover prayer. The initiative, reported by the Austrian Catholic press agency Kathpress on 7 September, is promoted by the diocesan Bishop Klaus Küng, author of the foreword to the brochure that will be distributed to the faithful. A press release put out by the diocese explains that the campaign is intended to lead participants to a kind of “spiritual exercise in daily life” by teaching them to pray “wherever they are: in the circumstances of everyday life, on the bus, in moments of free time”. “The brochure contains a general introduction to prayer”, explained deacon Markus Riccabona, who heads the diocesan Office for Communication. “The reader is then introduced to the secrets of prayer and how to establish a successful relationship with God through the mysteries of the Rosary and the life of Mary. It’s a real introduction to the basics of prayer”. The diocese of St. Pölten has also planned a series of prayer events in parishes, beginning with the Feast of the Rosary on 7 October. “Numerous prayer groups formed of families, mothers and youth, such as Eucharistic Adoration and the traditional prayer of the Rosary, support and sustain life in communities. Where prayer initiatives do not exist, this autumn campaign will be a stimulus”, concluded Riccabona. Portugal: dark and light sides in the ChurchThe Vice-President of the Bishops’ Conference, Mgr. Manuel Clemente, believes that at least 19 critical points can be identified in the Portuguese Church: “beginning with the divorce between faith and life, the loss of enthusiasm in evangelization, and the failure of models of Christian initiation”. The document (which can be consulted on www.diocese-porto.pt) was presented by the Bishop of Porto at Fatima on 31 August on the occasion of the 34th National Bible Week. “The failure to achieve a Church in which everyone has an irreplaceable mission to perform, the lack of joy, enthusiasm and hope in commitment, and celebrations divorced from real life” represent other characteristics of what is presented in the document as a list of “dark sides”. The list also includes “the lack of real models and public witnesses of Christian faith” and the difficulties of finding scope “in some means of social communication used by the young”. On the positive side, “the authenticity of many Christians engaged in living the Gospel in the world and in the Church, the rediscovery of the Word of God, and the promotion of moments of real encounter with Christ in prayer and in the Sacraments”, are the main “lights of hope” identified by Mgr. Clemente. They are fostered, he believes, “by greater attention to the signs of the time, dialogue with the world, the search for bridges of communication with contemporary culture, and the effort to adapt to new languages and technologies”. The document makes some suggestions “for a creative, ardent and fruitful commitment to the new evangelization”, and appeals for “a fundamental return to Christ”, the element “that defines us and turns us into a project for life”.
