Ukraine, Latvia, Portugal

Ukraine: Msgr. Dzyurakh, “steps of truth and peace” “We believe that only the full and objective truth about what is happening in Ukraine, will lead to the appropriate steps and action to stop the war, rebuild the territorial integrity of the country and ensure the conditions for durable peace.” Monsignor Bohdan Dzyurakh, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops of Ulraine’s Greek-Catholic Church auxiliary bishop of Kiev, commented to SIR Europe on the escalation of violence in the eastern region of the country, the Donbass. “Unfortunately – added the bishop -, what I feared already a year ago has actually happened. After the annexation of Crimea an initially hybrid war broke out against Ukraine, which has escalated in the open. We are calling on God to stop the massacre in eastern Ukraine.” “When one is plagued by terror, every sign of solidarity and closeness is of great value.” The Ukrainian Catholic Church – said Msgr. Dzyurakh – is deeply grateful to Pope Francis “for his appeals for peace in Ukraine”, “for his special envoy – Cardinal Christoph Schönborn – who visited Kiev last December, and above all for the prayers of Pope Francis for all the victims of the war in Ukraine.” He added: “We hope to meet the Holy Father on the occasion of the ad limina visit, scheduled for next February, to personally express our gratitude and to inform him about the real situation in the country.” The bishop thus appealed to the international community to have “the courage to recognize that what is going on in Ukraine is not a ‘civil war’ or an ‘internal conflict’, or simply a ‘crisis’. It is a military aggression or, if you will, an undeclared war, which is no less cruel and inhuman, in the center of Europe, which was planned and supported from outside of our country. You must have courage to call by name the author of this tragedy and do everything possible to prevent this bloodshed which expands more and more. Today words are no longer sufficient. Concrete acts of solidarity at different levels are direly needed”. Latvia: bishops’ letter on “Marian land” On January 23 four Catholic bishops from Latvia published a letter for the 800th anniversary of the declaration of Pope Innocent III who proclaimed Latvia “Marian Land” under the protection of the Vatican State. This Jubilee is “a good occasion for a self-reminder on openness and reconciliation”, write the bishops. Latvia’s history is multiethnic and multi-confessional. At a time when “in many areas of the world, including our neighbouring region (the reference is to Ukraine) “there are new wars and conflicts, our task is to be more aware of the fact that peace is God’s gift”. The anniversary should also be “an encouragement to recognize the crucial role of the religious dimension across all nations and for individual growth”. It will be a year to feel “the presence of the Holy Virgin”, by going in pilgrimage to places where is rooted the faith of our people”, such as Ikskile Maynard or Aglona. The bishops underline: “In 800 years there have been many changes in Europe and in the rest of the world, but we cannot draw apart from the historical roots from which have been created and deny the value of what we have today”. Several initiatives are planned for this year including an international conference at the end of May, organized by Riga’s theological institute on “Marian Land. Faith and public debate”. Portugal: Observatory for religious freedom The new Observatory on Religious Freedom (OLR), presented in Lisbon, is the result of the reflections of a group of researchers at the Department of Religious Sciences of the University of Portugal aimed at “providing an analytical picture of the religious phenomenon and its experience”. “Many institutions are charged with collecting data on how religion is lived in Portugal and in the rest of the world. On these grounds, our goal is to take it a step further by prompting debates and reflections on the collected information”, said Joaquim Franco, a coordinator of the project. Speaking of OLR’s guiding principles – “to promote own initiatives or in cooperation with other associations, to accompany and facilitate the process of cultural dialogue, along with the publication of an annual report” – the journalist explained that “the initiative is not aimed at a specific interpretative path, but rather, starting from an understanding of the religious phenomenon, in social, political or spiritual terms, it intends to build a better integration, coexistence, and cohabitation of diversities and differences”. The director of the Municipal Office Lisboa Encruzilhada do Mundo (Glem) added that “the Portuguese capital is by tradition an intercultural city” where various communities, religious and faiths exist, coexist and relate to each other”. According to Manuela Júdice, “the law on Religious Freedom in Portugal is one of the best in Europe and in the rest of the world, which enables all religions to exist and practice their faith within a common ground of regulated coexistence”.