CHURCHES IN BRIEF
KEK-Comece: EU and religious freedomThe Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union adopted, on June 24, the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Guidelines are the end product of a long process of development in which also the European Churches have taken part. The first point states that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is "a fundamental right of every human being" and recognizes that violations and abuses of this right are committed in all parts of the world, "including Europe". With these guidelines, the EU reiterates "its determination to promote" freedom of religion as a right that "must be exercised by anyone, anywhere, on the basis of the principles of equality, non-discrimination and universality". The Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (KEK) reacted immediately and defined it as an "important step" of the EU towards the recognition of freedom of religion. The Churches – reads a KEK statement – have always stressed that "freedom of religion and belief is an inalienable right of every human being irrespective of their religion and beliefs". Also the Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) welcomes the adoption of the Guidelines, although – they specify – some issues deserved to be dealt with more precision. The Comece observes, for example, that the document contains "a number of detailed tools" but "remains on a general level and some particular issues deserved to be specified (such as education)". In view of a future revision of the Guidelines, the Comece suggests some detailed descriptions, such as the need to "strengthen the collective dimension of religious freedom", and a "full recognition of the right of parents to educate their children according to their convictions".Czech Republic: world meeting of deaconsPermanent deacons from whole world see a great hope in spreading of Christian faith in the countries of the eastern Europe. This is the conclusion of a conference oraganized by the International Diaconate Center (Idc) that took place in Velehrad, Czech republic, on 13-16 June. The main topic of the meeting of 130 deacons from 30 countries was "Diacony among Cultures" and its participants paid special attention to the matters of evangelization in the countries of the eastern Europe. President of Idc professor Klaus Kießling, pointed to the fact that the western Church has gradually transformed to the "world Church" and in the spirit of II Vatican Council it "should find its place in the world of cultural variety". "We shouldn’t bring Jesus to people, because he is already there; we should look for him among the people", said Kießling, emphasizing that the Church should manifest itself as "a sacrament and a promise of God’s love and mercy". According to his words, 41 thousand of permanent deacons serving in the world should "focus on development of solidarity and demonstrate that the Church consists of open and self-critical people who care about the needs of the poor". Klaus Kießling was confirmed in the office of president. Poland: Churches and civil authorities remember the Volyn massacreThe visit to Poland of the head of the Ukrainian Greek-catholic Church (UGCC), Msgr. Sviatoslav Sevcuk, began on June 26, and on June 28, along with the President of the Polish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Msgr. Jozef Michalik, and the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ukraine, Msgr. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, they signed the Declaration for the 70th anniversary of the massacre in Western Volhynia. According to the Institute of Memory of Warsaw (IPN) in the years 1942-44 in Ukraine 100,000 Poles and 10,000 Ukrainians lost their life. Archbishop Mokrzycki did not hesitate in describing the events as an "ethnic cleansing" and urged a strong condemnation by the UGCC of the crimes perpetrated against all non-Ukrainians considered as "foreigners", including Latin Catholics and faithful of other Churches and religious communities. Father Ihor Jan Harasim, provincial superior of the Basilian Poles, in a statement he recently issued emphasizes that "Ukrainians and Poles are now very mature and they can look at the past in all its complexity". "I am convinced that our two fraternal peoples have the vocation to build together the future of Europe". On June 27 in Warsaw was also held a celebration in memory of the victims of the massacres on Ukrainian territory, with the presence of civil and religious authorities.
