CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Austria: Caritas and East European children"Finally safe!" is the slogan chosen by Caritas Austria’s campaign for children of Eastern Europe. "Our projects in Eastern Europe devote an increasingly important role to children", said Franz Küberl, president of Caritas Austria, on January 30 in Vienna at the end of a press visit to Ukraine with the director of Caritas Vienna Michael Landau and media officers. In the presentation of Caritas relief projects, Küberl underlined the purpose of the initiative, that includes 205 projects, 158 of which are dedicated to children. "Caritas wishes to disseminate information on the possibility of creating development, involving children, and offering opportunities to them". Orphanages, reception centres, prevention initiatives with the families, support to street children are some of the fields of intervention, along with initiatives in support of the elderly and the sick. The victims of "disasters are always the weaker brackets: children and old people", Landau remarked. "In many states of Eastern Europe", ensuring that "children live as children" is "a great problem". But there are also signs of a counter-trend: "In Countries like the Czech Republic and Poland, where the economy has undergone positive developments, poverty rates decreased", Küberl said. Municipalities in Ukraine municipalities provide increasing contribution by means of some financial support. "These are important signs that show that also the Ukrainian community takes on a part of social responsibility".Germany: initiatives for Latin America"Education is the key to combating poverty": said Msgr. Franz-Josef Overbeck, president of the organization ADVENIAT, in Essen, on January 30. The German Episcopal Action for aid to the Church in Latin America, established over fifty years ago by the German Bishops’ Conference, intends to "step up its commitment for education across lower social brackets" the bishop declared during the press conference to present the initiatives. "Despite the economic growth of Latin American countries as a result of globalization, poverty across the continent has increased. For this reason – Msgr. Overbeck said -, ADVENIAT will continue promoting global pastoral care practised in Latin America". With the funds collected in 2011 a total number of 2859 projects were financed, amounting to some 39 million euro. According to the organization, the commitment for aid to Haiti remains "important" since two years after the earthquake that devastated the region "the situation has not returned to normal". In 2012, the ADVENIAT campaign will be dedicated to "local communities" with the presentation of "MIssio" missionary works in the month of May in Mannheim, on the occasion of the 98th German Catholics Day. ADVENIAT projects, aimed at improving social conditions in Latin-American countries, include initiatives within the Church: the formation of collaborators inside the Church and the promotion of pastoral youth care, the creation of ecclesiastic infrastructures (parish centres, chapels, formation homes) aid to religious and lay people organizations, along with support to independent ecclesiastic media. Ukraine: State, Churches and religious communitiesThe constituent assembly of the newly elected public Council of the minister of Culture of Ukraine convened on January 26 in the seat of Chaikovskyi National Musical Academy. The minister of Culture, Mykhailo Kulyniak, conveyed his intention to cooperate with the largest number of civil society institutions in order to improve public policies in the areas of culture, religion, language policies and minorities. Participants in the meeting have approved the report on the preparation of the constituent assembly and adopted a set of formal decisions, which include the creation of the public Council of the Minister of Culture of Ukraine, consisting of all 83 participants in the assembly. The first session is expected to lead to the election of the presidency, the adoption of regulations and other official provisions. The Public Council will include, inter alia, representatives of Christian Churches and other religious confessions, namely: Orthodox, Greek-Catholics, Roman Catholics, Christian Evangelicals, Muslims and Jews. According to the Institute for Religious Freedom, the State Commission for Nationalities and Religions was abolished by the President of Ukraine in December 2010. Its responsibilities that include freedom of worship, Church-State dialogue, religious bodies register – have been transferred to the Minister of Culture.
