CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Austria: Caritas, fund collection for the poorThe Caritas fund collection for the poor will begin across Austrian dioceses. The campaign enjoys the contribution of Volunteers who will go from door to door asking for offerings. "Joint action enables to provide concrete help to people in need", said the chairman of Caritas Tirol Georg Schärmer during a press conference held February 29, reported by the Austrian news agency Kathpress. As many as 2400 volunteers will offer their services in the diocese of Innsbruck. Each year 5000 to 6000 people benefit from Caritas support in Tirol. "The door-to-door fund collection makes it possible to carry out new projects for hospices, healthcare to dementia patients, or assistance to the children of addicted parents". The campaign for the needy in Austria was undertaken also in the diocese of Salzburg, where from March 1st some 4000 people go from home to home asking for offerings. "People could rapidly incur into dramatic situations caused by job loss or family crisis", wrote the director of Caritas Salzburg Hans Kreuzeder in a release presenting the initiative. "Caritas is often a life-saver" and thanks to offerings "direct and immediate support" is provided to the needy. The money also serves to increase parish funds for projects in support of social action, a sum amounting to 40% of all offerings.Ukraine: the reconstruction of Saint Volodymyr’s CathedralThe Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will finance the reconstruction of St. Volodomyr’s neo-Byzantine Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Sevastopol, Ukraine. According to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, the news was released by representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation upon the visit of the head of the ministry, Anatolii Serdiukov, to Sevastopol on 27 February. The decision to allocate the funds was passed in January 2011. The work will include restoration of the frescos and major repair of the building. Reconstruction works should be completed by December 2012. St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral was built in the 19th century, after the Crimean War, as a memorial to the heroes of the siege of Sevastopol. The lower church was consecrated in 1881 while the upper church was finished 7 years later.Belarus: attendance at the world meeting of familiesThe participation of Belarusians at the World Meeting of Families in Milan was the main issue discussed during the February plenary session of the Commission for the Family of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Belarus, under the guidance of bishop Antonyi Demyanko. The prelate is to head the delegation of the Catholic Church to the event, due to take place on 30 May 3 June in Milan. It will be followed by the VI National Family Pilgrimage in Gudogaye, planned for 14 July under the title "Sub Tuum Praesidium confugimus…". The first upcoming initiative planned by the Commission for the Family is "Moral Adoption", a project that traditionally starts on the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a message from the episcopate dedicated to this event.Slovakia: almost 66% describe themselves Catholic65,8% of inhabitants of Slovakia claim to be Catholics, consisting in 62% of Roman Catholics and 3,8% of Greek Catholics. These are the official figures of last year’s Census, published by the Statistical Office this week. The Roman Catholic Church dominates in all regions of the country. Comparing the findings of the previous Census of 2001, when 68,9% of inhabitants claimed to be of Roman Catholic faith, the current situation indicates a decline of almost 7%. The Catholic Church understands it as a "consequence of the decades of atheisation previous to 1989. Our experience is that there haven’t been any dramatic changes in regard to religiosity during the recent period of time", says the official statement of the Bishops’ conference, pointing at the fact that the Census was associated with several complications like technical problems or growing mistrust towards the state and public institutions. "The Catholic Church represents a strong part of our society, her message brings unique impulses for the integral development of all people and wants to keep doing her best to continue the service for the common good of society", write the prelates, and express gratitude for the fact that despite growing secularism the majority in society try to preserve the Catholic faith.
