CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Germany: the Church remembers the fall of the Wall 25 years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 8-9 1989, 2014), and the German Catholic Church will commemorate the event. In Berlin the German Bishops’ Conference DBK organized for November 8 a conference titled “An encouragement to breath with both lungs”, with three round tables: “The fall of the Berlin Wall and its consequences”, “The end of Communism. What began?” and “European experiences and prospects 25 years since the fall of the wall. Ecclesia in Europe”. Among participants figure Cardinal Reinhard Marx, DBK president, Cardinal Karl Lehmann (bishop of Magonza), Polish Ambassador to Germany Jerzy Marganski, and Wolfgang Schäuble, German Minister of Finances. Cardinal Marx underlined that “the image provided by John Paul II of breathing with two lungs is one of the great visions of the European project”. On the November 9 the commemorative program features a concert in St. Hedwig’s Cathedral. The diocese of Münster devotes broad space to the recollections of the faithful, who can post their testimony on those days of 1989 on the website “kirchensite.de”. In Frankfurt, Limburg, Renovabis organized the photo exhibit “25 years, 25 heads”, that illustrates the action of German Catholics in favor of East European populations. On November 8 the exhibition “Catholics in DDR”, illustrating the life of 25% of Germans living in the ex Democratic Republic who fought against the repressive Communist regime, will be inaugurated in Hamburg. Spain: a thrust for culture and Science in Granada The framework cooperation agreement between the archdiocese of Granada and the San Paolo Andalusia Ceu Foundation for the development of scientific, academic and cultural projects that will contribute to Church mission was signed in Granada by the archbishop of Granada, Msgr. Javier Martínez Fernández, and by the Executive Director of the San Paolo Andalusia Ceu Foundation Fr Juan Carlos Hernández Buades. The convention stipulates the terms of agreement of each program, project and related activity that include training and research in humanistic disciplines, in philosophy in cooperation with the Philosophy Institute “Edith Stein” of the archdiocese of Granada, training courses in the art of restoration of cultural heritage, in dramatic arts, cinema and cinematographic languages along with training and research in music and/or sacred or liturgical music, among many others. The Convention equally stipulates cooperation between the two institutions in the joint preparation of courses, study days, seminars, research projects, publications or any other activity that might contribute to the purpose for which the agreement has been designed. It is also envisaged that the first educational programs, that are the logical consequence of the framework agreement, may be presented immediately. Interreligious dialogue: a meeting in Istanbul “Growing together. Benefiting from practical cooperation and facing the social and political challenges together”: it is the theme of the event that will bring together 50 Christians and Muslims in Istanbul from November 10-13 for the third Dialogue Conference promoted by the “Contact Group for Christian and Muslim leaders in Denmark” and by the “Arab Group for Islamic-Christian dialogue”. The purpose is to “focus on cooperation to translate common value and the wish to protect others in concrete actions for the promotion of peaceful coexistence”, organizers explained, and for “the implementation of initiatives that Christian and Muslims experiencing difficult situations may undertake together”. The participants, representatives of the two religious communities as well as researchers, will be arriving from Denmark, Norway, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Arab Emirates. During the workshops participants will analyze “those conflicts that cause forced separation of religious and ethnic communities; the effects of migration on the composition of society; skepticism towards others and tendencies to false generalizations in the framework of growing nationalism and radicalism”. The conference is the continuation of two previous similar conferences held in Beirut and Copenhagen in 2012. It will be followed by a meeting in Copenhagen next autumn.
