CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Ukraine: chaplain for Mothers in Prayer appointedHis Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), has appointed a chaplain for the all-Ukrainian lay movement Mothers in Prayer. "I am imploring God for all the graces you need in order to fulfill your service", writes His Beatitude Sviatoslav in the decree addressed to Rev. Zinovyi Khorkavy. The new chaplain was officially greeted by auxiliary bishop of Lviv, Benedict Aleksiychuk, who wished him that he would be "able to open his heart to everyone". According to Rev. Petro Rak, administrator of the Patriarchal Curia in Lviv, the assignment of a chaplain to the lay movement Mothers in Praye is a significant event for the Church: "This prayer movement has developed to such a dimension in the UGCC, that it needs an appropriate spiritual guidance. I believe that the priests of the eparchy involved in work with the movement communities and particularly the mothers, will support one another on the path of prayer".Slovakia: Caritas helping abroadIn 2012, the Caritas Slovakia realized humanitarian and development projects in the world amounting to over 600,000 Euro. The biggest part of the financial support – more than 170,000 Euro – went to India where Caritas has been supporting children through the campaign "Long Distance Adoption" since 1996. Among other destinations of the aid there was Uganda where the Catholic institution has built a center for poor and sick children with HIV and AIDS. "Thanks to our support, in January a center for the girls will open its gates and we hope to build the same facility also for the boys by the next year", explains secretary general of Caritas Slovakia, Radovan Gumulák. The donors from Slovakia have also supported humanitarian projects in Haiti still recovering from the earthquake of 2010; Somalia affected by the severe famine; Albania, Japan, Ukraine and Vietnam. "We are grateful to all the donors for their help and solidarity with people who live in deep poverty or have been affected by some kind of natural disaster", concludes Gumulák.Czech republic: Year of Mother Hasmandová"A tribute to an extraordinary woman of deep faith" is the aim of several events that will take place in Czech republic and abroad to commemorate life and work of Mother Vojtecha Hasmandová (1914-1988), superior of the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy of St. Charles Borromeo, whose beatification process is now under way in Vatican. She remained faithful to God and served with devotion to the Church despite severe persecution by the Communist regime. She spent eight years of her life in prison for the alleged treason but she accepted the unjust sentence with humility and fought for the right of the imprisoned to confess their faith even behind the bars. An exhibition entitled "Mother Vojtecha – Servant of God – Brave witness of faith" will be opened in Brno on 20 January, in Prague two days later, and afterwards it will visit all Czech dioceses under the patronage of the Bishops’ conference. Finally, it will be installed at the premises of the Czech Pontifical College Nepomucenum in Rome. "Totally devoted in service to the Church, opened to influence of the Holy Spirit, with deep ecclesial sense she led the religious community to the renewal. She was a pillar and a source of strength for the people in her life", explains postulator of the cause, Sr. Remigie Cesíková. In September 2013, a conference about life and work of Mother Vojtecha will be held in Brno. "The contribution of Mother Vojtecha for the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy is undoubtedly unique and very precious", says Sr. Remigie, adding that Mother superior was "attentive to the signs of time and had ability to respond to them under the guidance of the Holy Spirit".
