CHURCHES IN BRIEF
England: bishops about human traffickingThe Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are holding a meeting in Leeds from 12 to 15 November to address the issue of trafficking in human beings. They will listen to Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland, the head of the London Metropolitan police unit that investigates "human exploitation and organized crime". The bishops will also hear the story of a victim of human trafficking, Sophie Hayes, an English woman who was forced into prostitution by her boyfriend when she was only 18. Her Albanian partner persuaded her to travel to Italy for a holiday and then forced her into prostitution. Now that she has overcome her nightmare, Sophie collaborates with the charity "Stop the Traffik", close to the Catholic Church. She also set up the "Sophie Hayes Foundation" to combat trafficking in human beings. The bishops will try to find out how they can increase their efforts to combat human trafficking. "Every day, men, women and children are bought and sold for sexual exploitation", a spokesperson of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales explains. "This is the second most profitable business for organized crime after the illegal trade of arms. There are 1.1 billion Catholics in the world and the Church can use her network to stop this business". The bishops are also going to discuss the budget for 2013.Germany: secularisation is a challenge for the Churches"Even facing the quest for God together, in our society and in our country, is part of the efforts for ecumenism": this was said by mgr. Robert Zollitsch, president of the German Bishops Conference (Dbk), at a meeting in Hannover on 8 November with the evangelical bishop Ralf Meister, president of the Board of the Confederation of the Evangelical Churches of Lower Saxony. The 500th anniversary of the Protestant reform in 2017, discussed by the recent Synod of the German Evangelical Church (Ekd) and the Episcopal Synod in Rome, were the main issues addressed by mgr. Zollitsch and Meister during their talks. The president of Dbk stated that "secularisation is a challenge. It is not just a danger, it is also an opportunity", which must be addressed by the two Churches together: "We have a duty to face the quest for God together". To do this, he went on, "we have to learn to embrace God’s spirit again". On his part, Meister said he was glad he had hosted mgr. Zollitsch and reiterated that "there are more things that unite us than those that divide us. I hope such things may be strengthened or expanded in the lay pastoral service as well".Czech Republic: law on property between State and ChurchesOn November 7th the Czech parliament finally approved the law about property composition between State and Churches by 102 votes. The only step remaining in this long and complicated process is to acquire the signature of president Václau Klaus. "It’s a good news for all of us", says general secretary of the Czech Bishops’ conference, Mons. Tomás Holub. "For towns and villages, because it will enable them to continue with their development. For those who use social services and educational institutions run by the Church, as they will remain available in a full range. For the Churches, for they will be able to use their own financial sources for fulfillment of their mission in the society – to announce a joyful message about the sense and value of life of every single person, and to help those in need", continues Mons. Holub, expressing belief that concrete actions and steps of the respective parishes, religious communities and dioceses will prove all this clearly in practice. Total amount to be restituted to the Catholic Church is 134 billions CZK (5,36 billion EURO). It will be divided in two parts: 75 billions CZK will be returned in a form of property and 59 billions will be compensated to Churches and religious associations financially, in course of 30 years.
