CHURCHES IN BRIEF
COMECE: debate on employment and plenary meeting Contributing to the ongoing negotiations in the EU and at global level towards a post-2015 sustainable development is the objective of the debate “Decent work, the path to dignity for all” that the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), in conjunction with several NGOs and Catholic associations active at social level, will hold on Tuesday March 17 at the European Parliament in Brussels. “The majority of the global work force survives working informally, without social protection, earning hardly enough to maintain a living or by working embedded in global product chains, which mostly serve only one part of the globe”, is the denunciation, which will animate the debate. After European institution representatives will have described the status quaestionis of the negotiations, a set of contributions (from trade unions, entrepreneurs, youths, political forces) will be tasked with outlining roles and responsibilities in the quest for further steps with the goal of “dignified labour”, the key to the eradication of poverty. From the following day until March 20, the COMECE bishops will convene for their plenary meeting. Belgium: Brussels, religions united against “terror” In order to say no to the “strategy of terror” in Europe triggered by the acts of terrorism in Paris and Copenhagen and by the failed attack in Belgium, religious leaders will take the streets on Sunday March 15 in Brussels with a national march summarised with the slogan “Together in Peace – Liberté et Respect”. Demonstrators will stop in front of a mosque, a synagogue, a home of laicity, an Orthodox cathedral, a Catholic church and a Protestant temple: “These sites – wrote the religious leaders in Belgium in a joint statement – represent philosophic and religious pluralism in our Country and throughout Europe. It will be a sign of the fundamental respect we nurture for each other and of the deep solidarity that unites us”. Among the promoters of the initiative figure Monsignor André-Joseph Léonard, President of Belgian Bishops, archbishop of Malines-Bruxelles, Henri Bartholomeeusen, Chair of the “Centre d’Action Laïque” (Cal), Julien Klener, President of the Central Jewish Concistoire in Brussels, and Noureddine Smaïli, president of the Executive of Muslims in Belgium. Representatives of the Anglican, Protestant and Orthodox Churches will also take part in the event. Spain: Galicia, initiatives for families and children The Barrié Foundation and Caritas Spain a few days ago announced the launch of the Program for the Care of minors and family education, to which the Foundation contributes with 150 thousand euro. José María Arias Mosquera, president of the Barrié Foundation, and Sebastián Mora Rosado, Secretary General of Caritas Spain, have signed the agreement that will involve the whole of Galicia until December 2015 with the goal of helping reduce the number of school dropouts through actions directed at vulnerable families or situations of social exclusion. The Program will have an overall cost of 300thousand euro. The five diocesan Caritas in Galicia – Santiago de Compostela, Mondoñedo-Ferrol, Lugo, Ourense e Tui-Vigo – will coordinate the Program with the help of experts from their networks and volunteers specialized in the field of education. The initiative envisages home tutoring and dedicated training such as literacy and workshops to teach basic skills, domestic economy or support to family communication. The Program also provides financial support through additional aid for the purchase of books and school supplies, as well as scholarships to needy families so that children may access, in equal conditions, special resources and extracurricular activities. Slovakia: solidarity and help to children in Africa “We greatly appreciate that 77 thousand Slovakian families have opened their doors to ballad singers who collect funds for aid projects in Africa. Their generosity towards those in need is a great example of solidarity in the contemporary world”, said Juraj Kralik, president of the Movement of the Community of Christian children in Slovakia, commenting on the results of the twentieth edition of the Jubilee of the Good News Project. Almost 950thousand euro were collected by over 25 thousand Christmas ballad singers until January 11 2015 in 1.247 cities and villages of the Country, transforming the Good News Project into the greatest source of funding for charity initiatives directed at developing African Countries. The results of the collection were published a few days ago. “We will be able to support development projects in areas of education for children, young people and adults, healthcare, food and drinking water supply, social and economic support of minors and families, along with the care of invalids in Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda”, the coordinators said. “We wish to thank all the ballad singers who have enlightened with hope their neighbourhood during Christmas. Together we can undertake concrete initiatives, based on our belief in the value of the common good”, Kralik concluded.
