CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Czech republic: conference on "Night of Churches"More than hundred organizers participated at the conference "Night of Churches" held last week in Brno, Czech republic, under the patronage of Mons. Vojtech Cikrle, bishop of Brno. Participants of the event shared the experiences from previous editions of the project and discussed the priorities for the forthcoming Night of Churches, due to be held on 24 May. Karel Moravec, vicar for pastoral care and education of the diocese of Hradec Králové, presented a lecture on the role of clergy and laity in preparation of the event. He talked about need of priests to "search for collaborators, inspire them, give them space and motivation". Guests from Austria, the country where the idea to celebrate Night of Churches arose eight years ago, appreciated efforts of the people who have been working on the project for years: "Responsible people from parishes have learnt a lot. They have improved preparations and presentation, the feedback from visitors gives them new inspirations". They expressed their joy over the fact that Night of Churches hasn’t become some sort of "religious market" or "charming way to get new members for the Church". It remains an authentic event arising from the bases of parishes. Last year, the project saw participation of more than 1,200 churches with 7,000 performances prepared for more than 400,000 visitors in Czech republic.Ukraine: head of UGCC on Volyn tragedy"We want to build a relationship between the Ukrainian and the Polish nations in the spirit of mutual reconciliation and forgiveness, so that our past does not poison our future. After all, we are two brethren peoples, sons of one Catholic Church. And together we should acknowledge our sins. Mutually we should apologize to one another, embrace and build a common European future", said His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Volyn tragedy which took place in 1943 during World War II. According to the Information Department of UGCC, the tragedy lies in the massive killing of Poles and Ukrainians. "The wounds caused by this conflict hurt both the Ukrainians and the Poles to this day. Therefore we must beseech God for the necessary grace in order to heal these wounds", continued His Beatitude Sviatoslav and emphasized that UGCC bishops do not want to engage in history polemics and also do not wish to pronounce anyone guilty. "Our task is to provide Christian evaluation of those facts in order that we can truly heal our wounds and memories through mutual forgiveness", concluded the head of UGCC. The massacres of Poles in Volhynia were part of the ethnic cleansing operation carried out by Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the Polish province of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia (now western Ukraine) that started in March 1943 and lasted until the end of 1944. Slovakia: Bratislava for life"Bratislava for Life" was the title of a march for life held in the capital of Slovakia on 16 March. About 2,000 people wearing white ribbon – symbol of life on their clothes came to express their conviction that human life is worth protecting from the moment of conception. "This march for life represents an official opening of the 14th edition of the campaign Day of the Conceived Child, due to culminate on national level on 25 March", explains Marcela Dobesová, president of Forum for Life, one of the partners of the project. The aim of organizers is to eliminate discrimination of those who haven’t been born yet, based on the fact that current legislation confers a right to life only to those who already have been born, affirms Juraj Súst from the Ladislav Hanus Fellowship, main organizer of the march, adding that participants of the event don’t just want to be a "conscience of the society" but want to "bring hope and practical example of the fact that human life can be inspiring also in difficult life situations". March for life will be followed by similar events in other Slovak towns and the agenda of the campaign Day of the Conceived Child will also include an international conference in Rajecké Teplice, due to take place on 22-23 March. Domestic and foreign experts will reflect on various topics regarding education in family. Apart from this, Forum for Life collects signatures to support the European Citizens’ Initiative "One of Us".
