CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Portugal: “Recovering the value of democracy” On the occasion of the 54th national Meeting of Catechesis, held March 24-27 in the city of Castelo Branco, Portugal, on the themes “Evangelizing with the beauty of the Liturgy” (Evangelii gaudium, 24) and “Living a pedagogy of life and faith together with adolescents”, the director of the department of Liturgy of the patriarchate of Lisbon said: “In order to recover the true meaning of Sunday it is necessary to be more creative”. “We catechize in order to celebrate. We must seek to impart lessons that may become vital”, added Luís Manuel Pereira da Silva, warning on the risk that “celebrations be confined to beautiful words and concepts whose true meaning is not understood and interiorized”. Focusing his reflection on “What is liturgical education and how it should be lived”, the Portuguese prelate explained that in liturgical catechesis requires connecting with Church tradition of the patristic epoch, when liturgy and catechesis proceeded in parallel: “The great theologians were also bishops, and the defense of the doctrine took place through homilies, enabling the affirmation of the idea that the Church thought and preached”. For the liturgical coordinator, Professor at the Catholic University, it’s important to recover the catechumenal process of the time, that prompted gradual integration within the community. “We must be creative, and we must also recover the meaning of Sunday as a day dedicated to the Lord and to the community of believers, through activities and proposals that will promote a sense of unity while opposing a individualistic understanding of human existence”, concluded Fr Pereira da Silva. The Netherlands: the pilgrimage simulator On March 31 the prince of the Netherlands Bernhard junior inaugurated the pilgrimage simulator at the headquarters of the Council of Churches in Amersfoort. Now everyone will be able to access prior early booking. “The idea of the pilgrimage simulator”, the Council of Churches explained in a release, “came from a collaborator of the Council, Gerrit Ostinga, who relayed it from the so-called virtual treadmills”: devices used in the gym placed within digital simulators to suggest the idea of a walk along the beach or a tour of the city. “For the Council of Churches we adopted the same technology applied to pilgrimages. Possible destinations are Compostela, Jerusalem and Dokkum”, the latter city in the north of the Country, where in 754 were killed Saint Boniface and 52 confreres. The initiative falls within the framework of the “pilgrimage of justice and peace” chosen by the World Council of Churches as a theme until 2021. “Since the tradition of pilgrimage in The Netherlands is not very widespread, we referred to experiences on a wider scale”, Ostinga explained. There will be five mobile platforms and 25 people will be given the opportunity to have this experience simultaneously, while the footage is being screened. Every screening lasts eight hours “so there is no risk of getting bored. Chairs placed in a part of the room will be available to those who are tired and wish to converse”. Bosnia-Herzegovina: Sarajevo is awaiting Francis The preparations for the visit of Pope Francis in Sarajevo on June 6 are ongoing. In the past days, local sources told SIR, was staged the first meeting between Church-State committee to define the organization of the event. Although the program is not yet complete, Bosnia media outlets already leaked some information, which have not yet been officially confirmed. Accordingly, the Mass will be celebrated in the open, most probably in the stadium of Sarajevo, while the meeting with the priests; religious men and women will reportedly take place in the cathedral and the encounter with religious leaders in the Franciscan centre. The program also envisages a meeting with young people, that will probably be held in the John Paul II centre. In a few days will be activated a website dedicated to the papal visit. The media also reported that the chair that will be used by Pope Francis during the celebration would be handcarved by Edin Hajderovac, craftsman from Zavidovici a village in the canton of Zenica-Doboj, renowned for the woodworking industry. The walnut chair will be decorated with religious symbols. “The Pope’s arrival in town is awaited with great anticipation stated the same local sources not only by Christians but also by faithful from other religions. No voice was heard against the visit. Sarayevo has already opened its heart to the Pope”.
