CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Italy: card. Bagnasco on private schools "In all European countries, except for Italy, and even in post Communist countries, the public service provided by Catholic schools and by all private schools in general which comply with national education standards is recognized by the State. All European countries enjoy such recognition but Italy is out of the picture", said the Archbishop of Genoa, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, cardinal Angelo Bagnasco at the end of the Mass for university students celebrated on May 6 in the St. Philip Neri church. "It might be wrong to say that private schools, that include Catholic schools, are under attack – the prelate added – but it is a fact that in Italy parents’ rights to raise children on the basis of personal vision and values is recognized in principle but not in concrete terms". "Parents who wish to provide their children with Christian or Catholic education in private schools must cover all expenses", His Eminence added. "It can be said that they pay their taxes twice, which violates parents’ fundamental rights". Portugal: the Church in the media On May 8 the Portuguese Church promoted in Lisbon a meeting for the presentation of the World Day of Social Communications 2013, due to be celebrated on Sunday May 12 on the theme chosen by Benedict XVI: "Social networks: portals of truth and faith. New areas for evangelization". According to the director of the national Secretariat for Social Communications (SNCS), the Catholic Church must undertake a "serious conscience examination" vis a vis her action in the media. "We might come to realize that personal and ecclesial practice is still distant from the evangelizing potential of the media which we often speak of", underlined canonical João Aguiar in an editorial published by Ecclesia Agency weekly. The SNCS coordination acknowledged the "progress made in vocational training as well as the Church’s technological progress", but he also underlined the want of dedicated "pastoral care on communication". The auxiliary bishop of Oporto, Monsignor Pio Alves, highlighted the content of the theme outlined by the Pope: "true communication and dialogue", he said, "does not consist in two parallel avenues where people follow opposite directions". Germany: against extremisms To combat all forms of extremism: it is the exhortation of Monsignor Robert Zollitsch, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the consecration of the Maria Regina Martyrum Church in Berlin, devoted to the martyrs of faith and freedom of conscience, celebrated in the past few days. Co-celebrating Mass with the archbishop of Berlin, cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Msgr. Zollitsch called upon the faithful to "keep alive the memory of the past whilst attentively following the present". Msgr. Zollitsch paid tribute to "all those who managed to hide Jewish families, giving a concrete sign of love" to "those priests who in their homilies raised Christians’ awareness on the injustice of Nazi dictatorship". "The key of this resistance was the love and faithfulness to God and mankind", the archbishop pointed out. Commenting on the present situation, Msgr. Zollitsch said that "today it is once more necessary to undertake a commitment for human dignity donated by God". It "requires courage and the willingness to take a clear stand, exposing ourselves to the consequences of the manifold views and ideologies of our times. Human beings always risk giving in to extremism. Nonetheless I am surprised and disappointed that even today, in our Country, we witness the resurgence of situations that caused so much tragedy". CCEE-COMECE: the Feast of Europe An invitation "not to loose hope", to build a society based on solidarity and "open to the Almighty", for the creation of Europe as a "community of destinies", as indicated by Robert Schuman on May 9 1950 in his "Declaration" that gave the kick off to community integration. The presidency of the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences – CCEE – sent a message on the occasion of the Feast of Europe, celebrated on May 9. It states: "To all those living in the European continent who are experiencing difficulties caused by the ongoing economic crisis, who feel lonely, who lost their jobs and because of the serious crisis in meaning and faith strive to extend their glance to the future, to the youth in particular, we want to say that the Church in Europe is near them and encourages them not to lose hope". Also father Patrick H. Daly, Secretary General of COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community), called for the "creation of an avenue of that very peace and reconciliation" which has drawn "European nations closer". The "yes" pronounced by the German Chancellor to the "hand extended by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman – Daly continues – marked the first step of the extensive transformation of our continent in a community of nations, which on July 1st will welcome its 28th member, Croatia". For the COMECE secretary "peace and solidarity, the key objectives set out on May 9 1950, are all the more important today, as the ongoing economic crisis is severely affecting European society, causing grave suffering".
