CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Spain: foreign priests with a pastoral mission Foreign priests in Spain with a pastoral mission: it is the feature of the formation course organized in Madrid by the Episcopal Commissions for the clergy, migration and missions of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference in Madrid (Oct. 21-25). The archbishop of Toledo, Monsignor Braulio Rodríguez Plaza, president of the Bishops’ Commission for Missions delivered the keynote speech on “The priest at the service of the Church”. Panel speakers include Monsignor Ciriaco Benavente Mateo, bishop of Albacete, president of the Bishops’ Commission for Migrations, who will address the theme: “The service of charity in parish communities”, while the bishop of Tenerife, member of the Bishops’ Commission for the Clergy, monsignor Bernardo Álvarez Afonso, will close the meeting with a lecture titled “Toward a pastoral care of the future”. Among the lecturers figure the president of the Forum for the laity Camino Carrión (“Formation of the laity”), and priests directors of the secretariats of the bishops’ Commissions for migrations, pastoral care, teaching and catechesis, missions, communication, along with the director of the sub-commission for the family and the defence of life. The lectures will provide a snapshot of various pastoral environments in which are actively committed foreign priests in Spain. Participants include the vice-Secretary for Economic Affairs of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference Fernando Giménez Barriocanal, and the dean of the faculty of Canon Law from Saint Dámaso University Roberto Serres López, who will address the theme: “Canon and civil requirements for permanence in Spain”. Hungary: national youth volunteering projectThe Catholic Church along with the Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church in Hungary organized a national youth volunteering initiative on 10-13 October for the sixth time. More than 8,000 young Christians from all regions of Hungary participated at the project lasting 72 hours, filled with various volunteering activities and around 350 social, environmental and development projects carried out. Young boys and girls got involved in the service of charitable organizations, schools, kindergartens, hospitals and healthcare institutions with aim to draw attention to volunteering and its benefits not only for the society and for the people in need but also for the volunteers themselves, inspiring them to live their lives in the spirit of solidarity with others. According to one of the coordinators, Tibor Hortobágyi, the sixth edition of the project has fulfilled its main aim – to raise awareness of the citizens towards volunteering and its importance for the society. As he said, the success of the national event was immense and he expressed hope that its next editions will draw attention of even more young people. France/Ukraine: new church of UGCC to be opened A new church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), dedicated to St. Boris and Glib, will be officialy opened in Senlis, France, in November. According to bishop Boris Gudziak from the Ukrainian Eparchy of St. Volodymyr in Paris, a pontifical liturgy will be served there on 16 November, preceeding a memorial servise for the victims of Holodomor, due to be held in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on 17 November. The church of St. Boris and Glib, visited by French queen Anne Yaroslavna of Kyiv in the 11th century, would be a relic of our ability to witness and understand that one can live with dignity and full value, effectively and victoriously,” says bishop Gudziak pointing to the difficult times of historical trials for UGCC. The church was purchased for 203,000 EUR coming mostly from donations of faithful of UGCC from Ukraine, France, Britain, the United States and Canada. According to preliminary calculations, repairs and equipment of the church wil cost 1.5 million dollars. There are also plans to establish a cultural center of Anna Yaroslavna affiliated to the church, with goal to represent and promote Ukrainian culture within the framework of Ukrainian – European cooperation.
