CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Ukraine: reconciliation and World War II"Models of reconciliation and attitude towards the past" was the theme of a roundtable held in Kyiv on 7 May. The event was jointly organised by the Justice and Peace Committee of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), the Union of Officers of Ukraine, the Committee on Christian Unity of the UGCC and the Department of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC on Matters of Pastoral Care in Armed Forces. The roundtable was aimed at development of a philosophy of reconciliation and revival of unified Ukrainian self-consciousness regarding the participation of the fighters of Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Ukrainian Soviet Army in World War II. Discussion resulted in the signing of a joint statement for the public, saying that Ukraine has reconciled with the countries participating in WWII but inside the country no agreement has been reached. "The burden of the past is impossible to forget but it is possible to accept it when there is mutual forgiveness", reads the statement, affirming that "for the sake of the peaceful future" of Ukraine’s citizens, the signatories turn to the president and other representatives of the country with a request "to start peaceful dialogue in the society regarding the painful question of reconciliation of Ukrainians who fought on different sides as they had no state of their own and to recognize the fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army as a party in WWII".Germany: Cologne Cathedral now on FacebookThe Cologne Cathedral too is on Facebook, Catholic News Agency KNA reported on 9 May. It is now possible to find the Cathedral’s opening hours and Mass times and other relevant information at www.facebook.com/KoelnerDom. Users of the social network can also join in discussions, write their prayers in an online book of intercessions, and meet at the Cathedral every Friday for Mass. "Social networks are gaining worldwide popularity", said Norbert Feldhoff, parish priest of the Cathedral, as he presented the website in Cologne on 8 May. "It is important for us as a Church to be present also in those places where people are present in their social networks. The website Facebook", continued Feldhoff, "is complementary to the thousands of web pages in which the Cathedral is already present on the Internet with its website www.koelner-dom.de. And the smartphone application Dom-App, released six months ago, is completely free of charge.Slovakia: Caritas and integration of migrantsCaritas Slovakia recently finished the project of education of migrants from the countries not belonging to the European Union. 42 people from Ukraine, Vietnam, Turkey and Palestine took opportunity to participate in accredited courses of retraining with aim to find job in Slovakia, mainly in the area of catering, nursing and other kinds of services. Project manager Martin Fialek believes that this activity of Caritas "will simplify the process of their integration into society and help to solve their employment problem". The project was co-financed by the EU and according to general secretary of Caritas Slovakia, Radovan Gumulak, its success will result in a wider range of activities including psychological and social counselling for boys and girls from abroad living in Slovak foster homes. "Caritas tries to relieve traumas and difficult psychical conditions of minors who come to Slovakia without their relatives", explains Martin Fialek, praising the cooperation with International Organization for Migration and Union of Vietnamese women in Slovakia. Belarus: visit of secretary of Congregation for Oriental ChurchesThe Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, archbishop Cyril Vasil, concluded his 3-day visit to Belarus on 9 May. During his stay, he met with Church representatives and Catholics of eastern and western rites and prayed at the memorial of the Khatyn massacre of 1943, commemorating victims of World War II. The official program of Mons. Vasil culminated in Minsk. In the afternoon he participated in the opening ceremony of an exhibition focused on the ecclesiastic architecture of Belarus in the church of SS Simon and Elena. It was followed by a conference about the significance of Eastern Christianity for the Church in the world, with participation of the clergy and seminarians. In the evening, Mons. Vasil pronounced a homily during the Holy Mass presided over by the apostolic nuncio to Belarus, Mons. Claudio Gugerotti, at the church of SS Simon and Elena in Minsk.
