Solidarity and cooperation

In Germany and Austria Advent is announced with actions linked to international solidarity, while the activities with the universal Church take shape through humanitarian cooperation proposals. Germany: Ecumenical opening of the Advent in Cologne. An ecumenical celebration of the Vespers in Cologne the evening of December 1st has marked the opening of the new liturgical year. The service, held at the Catholic Basilica of the Holy Apostles, was chaired by cardinal Joachim Meisner and by the president of the Evangelical Churches of Renania, Nikolaus Schneider. The Cardinal of Cologne reminded the faithful that "the period of the Advent is bound to the consent of God to the salvation of mankind. In this sense, the ten commandments are God’s concrete requests to mankind". "The coming of God has given us the force not to respond to betrayal of faith by interrupting contacts, to strangeness with mistrust, to hatred and violence with more violence", Schneider said. The will of God and the purpose of the period of Advent is "to walk along the path of peace". He said: "The coming of God must bring the faithful to have the courage to make concrete steps in the direction of peace". This is true "both in our private realms as in the larger world of responsibility and decisions at political level". The ecumenical vespers celebrated in Cologne mark the beginning of a set of joint ecumenical celebrations, which have become a tradition of the period preceding Christmas and Lent in the region of Cologne and Düsseldorf.Germany: Adveniat for Latin America. With a letter to the faithful released December 7, German bishops addressed an appeal to support the Christmas campaign of Adveniat, the organization of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) that supports the Latin-American Church in providing support to the needy. "In the midst of you" is the title of the action of Adveniat for 2012. It envisages fund-raising for local ecclesial communities’ activity in the parish with Biblical readings, animation of celebrations, prayers and social work. The Adveniat campaign in Germany was inaugurated in Hildesheim with a Mass co-celebrated by the bishop of the diocese, Msgr. Norbert Trelle, by the archbishop of Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Msgr. Serbio Alfredo Gualbert, and by Msgr. Franz-Josef Overbeck (Essen). In his homily, Msgr. Trelle said: "the Church cannot distance herself from ordinary life. This is true for Latin America and for Europe alike. Despite structural reforms and parishes that grow larger and larger, also Christians in Germany are committed to working for and with our fellow men and women". The example of the local ecclesial communities of Latin America, are "a gift bestowed by the Latin-American Church to the universal church", Msgr. Trelle said. The action of Adveniat envisages about one hundred events organized in German dioceses that will culminate on December 24-25 with the collection of offertories across Germany for Latin America and the Caribbeans.Austria: 24 thoughts for the youth. "What do you burn for?" This is the question raised in the online Advent calendar organized for the youth in the diocese of Feldkirch. The initiative, titled "24 enthusiastic thoughts on the Advent" is a project aimed at bringing a contribution to ensure that "life will be illuminated by a ray of light", said Martin Fenkart, representative of the pastoral care of vocations in the diocese of Feldkirch, according to a report by Austria’s Catholic press agency Kathpress. Every day the website publishes a youth’s answer to the question. In their replies, the youths mentioned themes such as tolerance, civil courage and faith, with reference to biblical passages. The online Advent calendar falls within a project for the pastoral care of vocations, presented past November during religion classes in the Land of Voralberg. In this period, 40 people actively involved in the Voralberg Church have met with 4500 pupils, to tell them how to lead a life full of meaning and to provide a sort of coaching in the choice of future professions. Austria: Star of hope. "Star of hope" is the title of the fund-raising initiative promoted by Austria’s Catholic male movement for the period of Advent. This year the money will serve to fund school projects in the mountain areas of Guatemala. On December 6, in cities across Austria, volunteers dressed up as Saint Nicholas have visited members of the ecclesiastic, political and academic realms to collect offerings for the project. Organizers have sold the traditional chocolate figures representing the Saint, produced with ingredients from fair and equal trade across parishes and in Salzburg at the Christmas fair and in front of the Dome. The Movement’s initiative supports projects for school infrastructures in villages in Guatemala to purchase didactic materials and provide grants for gifted students, enabling them to continue their studies. Over one thousand children belonging to 12 different schools have benefited from the funds collected in the project.