France, Portugal, Ukraine

France: ANDDP, a conference in JerusalemThe Congress of the National French Association of Diocesan Pilgrimage Directors (ANDDP) took place in Jerusalem past November 14 to 19 whose theme was a verse from Psalm 84 “For God our Lord has loved this land”, chosen as an invitation “to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land”. The initiative, which this year reached its 64th edition, for the first time took place in the holy city. Auxiliary Bishop, Msgr. William Shomali, did the honors. In his welcoming speech Msgr. Shomali read a message from the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal in which he explained that a pilgrimage to the Holy Land fulfils three vocations with the same purpose, that is, to meet God. “Being a pilgrim is a vocation”, he said. “The support of history, archaeology and tradition confirms that the history of Salvation is real and it belongs to our human history that unfolded in concrete geography, which is the Holy Land”. The patriarch said that organizing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land as diocesan directors “is a mission”, highlighting the importance of the spiritual fruits of a well-organized pilgrimage. The third vocation is “the welcoming of pilgrims by the local Church. We encourage pilgrims to attend Sunday Mass in a parish church, to encounter the living stones of this Church”. ANDDP president, Fr. Patrick Gandoul, speaking to an audience of 168 participants gathered at the Notre Dame Center, reiterated: “This conference is a visit, an expression of solidarity to our brothers and sisters from the Holy Land”. “The pilgrim is a figure of peace who wishes that his pilgrimage take root in the Holy Land through the Bible and through archaeology, entering a solidarity relationship”. France currently ranks among the first four countries with the highest number of pilgrims.Portugal: UCP, a quest for Catholic identity”The Study Centre on Religions and Cultures of the Catholic University (UCP) is carrying out a research on “religious identities in Portugal”, that will permit to evaluate the importance ascribed to the Church across society. The scientific coordinator of the project Alfredo Teixeira, has anticipated that the first phase of the research has almost ended, having collected “street interviews with some 3500 people of the continental territories and the islands”. The poll, conducted in the first two weeks of November, involved “Portuguese citizens aged 15 or more, from the rural regions, semi-urban regions and urban areas”. The UCP Theology Professor believes that at the beginning of the new year the evaluation of the findings will be 95% reliable, thus providing an accurate picture of Portuguese Catholic identity. “People’s behaviour and their religious faith, the practice of individual and family oration, the degree of satisfaction vis a vis the pastoral action of the Church are only some of the aspects taken into account”, Teixeira said. “The research tends to extend beyond the mere collection of religious information on the interviewees, and encompass also their cultural and leisure habits, along with the customs linked to the local reality. Only by placing them in a wider framework will we be able to draw accurate conclusions on how people relate to the Catholic Church in their own words”. The university project, which was conceived as a result of the initiative proposed for the coming years by the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP), called “Rethinking together the pastoral care of the Church in Portugal” is designed to give continuity to the research promoted by the Portuguese bishops in 1999, in preparation for the Jubilee Year, regarding the degree of participation to Sunday Mass by the faithful.Ukraine: Catholic bishops against “Dognal Group”Catholic bishops of Ukraine emphasize that “the Dognal Group has nothing to do with the Catholic Church, as its leaders, former Catholic priests, were punished for their gross church crimes by excommunication”. The prelates exhort all Catholics to be careful in regard to activities of this group and warn the state authorities of Ukraine that “the Dognal Group is known for its extreme religious intolerance which leads to interdenominational confrontation and open conflicts. Its activity provokes unrest and division in the Ukrainian society”. Hierarchs demand that appropriate measures be taken to stop the harmful illegal activity of the sect, which has characteristics similar to those of totalitarian sects. The document on the pseudo-Christian groups was recently signed by the members of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv-Halych Supreme Archbishopric of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and Conference of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) in Ukraine. According to Fr. Orest-Dmytro Vilchynskyi, who has studied the movement for several years, “dognalism persistently presents itself as the successor of the underground UGCC and stresses its ‘true’ Christian identity. The calls to defend traditional values from the invasion of liberalism gives the adherents of dognalism the sense of the last bulwark of the European Christianity, or even Christianity, on the whole. By skilful manipulation of facts, dognalism gives its followers the sense of being the elect, of an unhealthy elitism and, at the same time, gives them opportunities for self-realization to them through various actions”.