CHURCHES IN BRIEF" "
Spain: Caritas worried about the social crisis”Deep concern” was shown by the representatives of the 70 diocesan sections of the Confederation of Caritas Spain in the final statement of the 70th General Assembly taking place in the last few days at El Escorial. A cause for concern is the “dramatic situation” affecting millions of people in Spain. “Thousands of lives”, the statement reads, have become “victims of an unfair model that, based on the arguments of spending rationalization and economic sustainability, is unable to place common good above the individual well-being”. The representatives of Caritas denounce “the adoption of political, legislative and economic decisions that are already generating a great suffering in the victims. This lack of horizons and perspectives could have very negative consequences for the future of Spanish society”. Last year, they wrote in the final statement, “we have seen a number of important legislative reforms which, instead of contributing to the solution of the crisis, led to a loss of social rights affecting the dignity of the person”. The situation is made worse by the reforms still to be approved, such as the ones on local governments or the justice system. Faced with all this, the Caritas sections point out to the “personal and community responsibility in taking on a more active and participatory role in the social transformation process, starting from a lifestyle based on austerity and a Gospel-oriented sensitivity, as the inspiration of a more friendly, fraternal and accessible society”. Ukraine: card. Husar at Forum of Young Leaders”Today we have many means of communication which make interaction a bit easier. I think that we should take advantage of them. Whenever we think together and exchange ideas and experiences, we become stronger and therefore, we can do more for the Church and our people”, said cardinal Lubomyr Husar, archbishop emeritus of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Ugcc), at the Forum of Ugcc Young Leaders held on 28-30 June in Lviv. He encouraged youth to “stay in touch with each other through contemporary means of communication, in touch with thoughts and actions”. Around 100 participants from whole Ukraine came to the event to work together on the issues of activities of the Church and community organizations, volunteering, monetary issues… According to His Beatitude Lubomyr, leader is a person who is aware of other people’s and his own talents and knows how to gather them “around a good cause”, using wisdom in order to pick appropriate methods to reach the goal. Husar encouraged the participants to use this approach also for the evangelization. Czech republic: statement on gamblingThe Council Iustitia et Pax of the Czech Bishops’ conference issued a statement regarding amendments to the law on gambling at the beginning of July. The document, signed by its president, mons. Václav Malý, points to the fact that in 2011 there were 195 casinos and 1053 gambling houses in Prague which is too high number comparing to other European capitals like Stockholm (only one casino) or Bratislava (three casinos). Therefore, the Council appreciates the decision of the Constitutional Court from April this year that confirmed the legal right of municipalities to regulate any gambling activities in respective regions and districts. “We appreciate the effort of individuals, organizations and municipalities that gradually leads to transformation of the attitude of the judiciary system, some politicians and public, and brings hope for improvement”, reads the document, pointing to addiction, financial problems, distraints, broken families and criminality – problems associated with gambling. “Gambling addiction is not only a problem of individuals and their own freedom and responsibility, it’s a problem of the whole society”, emphasizes bishop Malý, offering an advice on how to proceed if the municipality wants to ban gambling in a form of official regulation. Poland: ecumenical week in DziegielowThe small Polish town of Dziegielow (1,500 inhabitants), close to the border with the Czech Republic, has been an important venue of ecumenical meetings for 64 years. This time, the Week of Evangelization organized by the Evangelical Church, July 6-14, is dedicated to the “time of change”. Bozena Giemza, a member of the Evangelical Missionary Centre, thinks that the change at issue may relate to both humans and the world they live in. Pawel Gumpert, person responsible for evangelization at the Centre, observes that the discussion is focused on the figure of Christ in contemporary reality since “when everything changes we need a steadfast point of reference”. The program, in addition to discussions and meetings, includes evenings with movies and music, but also games and activities for children. For the first time this year the daily meetings on evangelization are live streamed to make them accessible to those who could not travel to Dziegielow.
