CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Ukraine/Poland: spiritual tour among the shrines of the Carpathians An international cycle-pilgrimage titled “Spiritual shrines: towards God and towards the world” is ongoing in Ukraine and Poland until the end of June 2015. According to the manager of the project, Bohdan Sydorak, the bicycle tour, due to begin in Stryi on May 8, will be dedicated to the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Andryi Sheptitskyi, marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fr Mykhailo Verbitskyi and the anniversaries of two Ukrainian hymns: the 150th anniversary of “Ukraine is not yet dead” and the 130th anniversary of “Great and only God, save Ukraine for us”. Participants in the pilgrimage will be visiting 22 wooden churches in the Carpathian Mountains in Poland and Ukraine that among Unesco world heritage sites. Spain: Caritas, “Defend dignified work” campaign Caritas Madrid promotes the 2015 campaign against unemployment, “Defend dignified work”, inviting everyone to defend dignified jobs. “At present – states Caritas Madrid – we are living a reality that has suffered and continues suffering the consequences of deep transformations in all areas of life. One of these is the way of understanding and organizing work that is not compatible with the dignified life we are called to fulfil. To have a job, a sufficient salary to live on, dignified working conditions, are aspects that make possible human growth and development, or conversely, prevent it”. Caritas Madrid is committed in this reality by welcoming people, supporting the active quest for a job, imparting training thereby facilitating job access, giving a contribution for the individual and to the family needs of people in difficulty, creating areas for encounter and setting up solidarity networks, starting with the commitment of Caritas Madrid in this field through the manifold initiatives promoted in 2014. Last year Caritas Madrid has welcomed 8.025 people in 34 guidance centres and training programs, trained 1.397 students, 19% more compared to 2013, in 107 courses, in sectors with greater job market demand and has granted 3700 economic aids to unemployed in situations of serious precariousness. There are also two job placement agencies (www.caritasmadrid.org/imprese-con-cuore), whose main goal is to help workers enter the job market. Portugal: hospital, spiritual support to various faiths The Religious and Spiritual assistance Service (SASR) of the Hospital Centre in Northern Lisbon, consisting of the hospitals “Santa Maria” and “Pulido Valente” has promoted a meeting with representatives of other churches and communities to analyse the legislative provisions that guarantee the exercise of spiritual treatment to all religious confessions. “What we did was to find a set of provisions that will be included in the hospital regulations in order to offer equal rights to patients and to their families”, said the president of the Board of Directors of the Centre Carlos Neves Martins: “In our hospitals, we will initiate a new form of spiritual support which will include not only associations and communities already bound to them, but will be allowed and open to all faiths. “Procedures that ensure the assistance, already defined, relate primarily to the time of admission: “The beginning of the process takes place at the time of entry in the hospital, when the patient expresses willingness to be assisted spiritually, through a form, where he/she declares his/her choice, in order to inform accredited persons from all denominations, “said the coordinator Saer, father Fernando Sampaio. The Hospital Center of North Lisbon intends to provide “a place for worship, common to all the different churches and communities”. Slovakia: media evangelization projects The Council for Social Communications of the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia inaugurated a competition for the best media projects centered on evangelization. “It’s an occasion offered to national and regional Catholic media to propose creative and original ideas on the theme of evangelization. All projects will be examined by the Council and some of the best ones will have the possibility of obtaining financial contributions for their implementation”, explained Fr Martin Kramara, secretary of the Council, who added that the chosen candidates will be supported with the funds collected during the seventh week of Easter across Catholic parishes in Slovakia and that the results of the competition will be known in the fall Plenary meeting of the Bishops’ Conference. The description of each TV, radio, internet project, and press projects should be as detailed as possible, including the goals, information on the budget, approval on the part of the competent ecclesial authority. They should be more than ten pages long. The deadline for handing in the projects is July 31st 2015. Last year the Bishops’ Conference provided financial support to 23 media project, for an overall amount of 190 thousand euro, including the creation of several internet portals dedicated to the pastoral care of youths, a TV documentary on the history and veneration of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, patron Saint of Slovakia, several projects in the field of education.
