CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Austria: an interreligious calendar for studentsAt the beginning of the school year, over 130.000 Austrian students will be receiving an interreligious school calendar. The initiative organized by all Christian churches together with Jewish and Islamic Communities reached the eighth edition this year. It a unique project for Europe, “it can be described as one of the results of existing major projects in the field of ecumenical relations, unthinkable in other Countries”, Christine Mann, chairperson of the school education Office of the archdiocese of Vienna, told the Austrian Catholic press agency Kathpress on September 4. The calendar is given to students aged 13 to 19 to promote mutual understanding and tolerance, encouraging the coexistence of different confessions based on mutual respect. The interreligious school calendar is supported by Minister for Education Claudia Schmid, who wrote presentation of the publication, pointing out that it is “a sign of harmonious multicultural coexistence”. “Indeed” Mann underlined, “it is a strong sign in our society with ever weaker value foundations, whereby increasing individualism leads to an insufficient understanding of the meeting points and of the possibilities for coexistence”. Germany: in the run-up to the Pope’s visitThe Pope is a very understanding spiritual father: it was said by father Hans Langendörfer, secretary of the German Bishops Conference (Dbk), in an interview published yesterday by the German Catholic news agency Kna. Speaking of Benedict XVI’s forthcoming journey to Germany, Langendörfer – who is coordinator of the preparations – announced that the Pontiff will most likely also take position on the fact that religion should not become a private matter but can give a contribution to society. Going over his previous journeys, Langendörfer noticed: “In his two visits to Cologne and Bavaria, the Pope “touched and impressed lots of Germans. His clear language, his well-considered theology, his optimism about the fact that faith and reason-driven thinking are not mutually exclusive, all this attracted lots of attention. The fact the Pope strengthened us in elaborating on the abuse cases was also very important for us”. Langendörfer said he believes that “the Pope appreciates the energy and devotion with which many Catholics take care of the Church, especially at such a tough time”, and recognises the peculiarities that have to do with living with the Protestant Church and the constant confrontation with it, which, Langendörfer concluded, “affects faith”.In the framework of the upcoming Apostolic Visitation of pope Benedict XVI to Germany, scheduled to take place September 22-25, the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) published a collection of theological essays by Joseph Ratzinger titled “The faith of the Church”. The news was released today by DBK with a release posted on the website of the Bishops’ Conference. “With his works and his essays, Joseph Ratzinger has always served the truth, bringing it to the world”, wrote DBK President Msgr. Robert Zollitsch, in the preface of the 152-page document. “The purpose of the new volume”, continues the archbishop, “is to better understand and from different angles this scholarly, outstanding treasure His Holiness has authored. The book also serves as a preparation for and continuation of the papal visit. In fact, much of its content conveys the motto of the Visitation, ‘Where there is God, There is a future'”, Zollitsch explained. The documents were selected by the Pope Benedict XVI Institute in Regensburg, providing an overview of the theological thinking of the Pontiff. The themes broached include “The Old Testament -directed at Christ”, “Faith witness and confession”, “Europe” and “New Evangelization”. Czech Republic: prayer for the plane crash The bishops of the Czech republic and of Moravia conveyed their heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of 43 victims in the plane crash near Moscow, Russia. The bishops called upon the faithful in the Country to remember those who perished in their prayers. Only two people survived the tragedy occurred the afternoon of Wednesday, September 7. On board of the plane were the players and coaches of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club team, including three Czech players, members of the Czech Hockey team- Jan Marek, Josef Vasicek and Karel Rachunek, and the legendary Slovakian hockey champion Pavol Demitra, along with Russian, Swedish, Ukrainian, Belarus and German players.
