CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Slovakia: the bishops on the health crisisSituation in the health care resort reflects persisting moral crisis, writes president of the Bishops’ conference of Slovakia, Mons. Stanislav Zvolensky, in his appeal regarding critical situation caused by the strike of medicine doctors in the country. Thousands of them officially quit their jobs to express their dissatisfaction with conditions in health care and low salaries. Negotiations with Ministry of Health have failed, most of the doctors insist on their notices and Government decided on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency in 15 hospitals. According to the law, doctors who refuse to perform their duties and endanger lives of their patients will be subject to legal proceedings. “We realize that service of doctor and other medical personnel is not evaluated enough. However, we want to remind that protection of health and lives, especially those of children and elderly people, must remain an unconditional value and duty of every individual and whole society”, appeals Mons. Zvolensky in his declaration of 30th November, emphasizing that it’s not possible to overcome moral crisis with activities bringing injustice. “We pray for all leaders to create health care system that is moral, solidary and appropriate for dignity of human beings”, concludes the president of the Bishops’ conference, inviting all the people of good will to “mutual respect and searching of common good”.Ukraine: Lviv elevated to Metropolitan ChurchArchbishopric to the dignity of metropolitanate. It is headed by archbishop Ihor Voznyak and consists of the Lviv Archeparchy, Sokal-Zhovkva, Sambir-Drohobych and Stryi eparchies. In early December, metropolitans will be enthroned also in Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil. “The UGCC is heading to the approval of the patriarchal structure, and the opportuneness of these efforts is recognized by the Roman Pontiff”, said His Beatitude Sviatoslav in a decree on the declaration of three new metropolitanates. The document was read during the liturgy by bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, secretary of the Synod of Bishops, and apart from the declaration itself it includes the history of the UGCC, its difficult path, its legalization and the return of the See of the UGCC primate to Kyiv in 2005, under the guidance of His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar.Slovenia: assembly on the new evangelizationPromotion of the new evangelisation, as the key point of future pastoral work: this was the subject of the 63rd plenary assembly of the Slovenian Bishops Conference (Ces), which took place in Ljubljana from 28th to 29th November, chaired by the city’s metropolitan archbishop, mgr. Anton Stres. In the run-up to the next Episcopal Synod, due to take place in Rome in 2012, the Slovenian prelates, as reported in a release by Ces, “insisted on the importance of dialogue between faith and culture, as a way to deepen one’s personal belief. In such work, they acknowledge the role of the Church, which, anchored to its prophetic mission, chooses ever-new ways to spread the Gospel”. Items discussed by the bishops included “the baptised ones, who have distanced themselves from the Church over the years, getting close to their Christian roots again. Through an accurate pastoral mission, their awareness must be raised about the religion and community they belong to”. For this purpose, they prepared a new pastoral plan for the Church in Slovenia, which – in keeping with 2013 as the Year of Faith, launched by Benedict XVI – aims at making the true values of the Christian faith be rediscovered. The assembly was attended by the Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia, mgr. Juliusz Janusz, and the delegates of the Croatian and Hungarian Bishops Conferences as well.Belarus: a monument symbol of Christian unityThe commemorative monument was consecrated last week as a symbol of Christian unity for the celebration of the second millennium of Christianity. The ceremony took place to the presence of dignitaries of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and of municipal authorities. The monument bears passages from the Gospel in Greek, Belarus and in the idioms of the Old Slav Church, as well as figures of evangelists. “May the consecration of the monument commemorating Christianity be a sign of gratitude for the generations of Christians that have preserved and transmitted the faith, especially in difficult times of suffering”, said Catholic bishop Aleksandr Kashkevich. The Orthodox Archbishop Gury of Novogrudok and Lida conveyed his hope “that this monument may be a sign of reconciliation and a reminder of our faith and of our valorous history, of which we can be proud”.
