CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Eastern Churches: bishops’ meeting on the family and the Synod This year’s annual meeting of Eastern Church dignitaries in Europe will take place in Praha-Břevnov” (Czech Republic), on the invitation of Msgr. Ladislav Hučko, apostolic exarch for the Catholics of Byzantine rite resident in the Country. The meeting, co-promoted by CCEE, began on June 4 at the Benedictine abbey of Saints Adalbert and Margherita in Břevnov. In Břevnov, the bishops representing 14 East-Catholic Churches in Europe will address the reality of the family in Europe and the role and Mission of East Catholic Churches also ahead of future discussions on the occasion of the next Ordinary Synod of bishops on the family. During the meeting Msgr. Ladislav Hučko will inform participants on the situation and mission of the Greek-Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. The program envisages a meeting of participants with Cardinal Dominik Duka, archbishop of the capital. The event will conclude Sunday June 7 with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy with the local community in St. Clement’s Greek-Catholic cathedral. Spain: solidarity emporium inaugurated in Toledo The archbishop of Toledo, monsignor Brauilio Rodriguez Plaza, inaugurated the first Caritas solidarity emporium in the Santa María de Benquerencia neighbourhood in Toledo. The initiative is designed to provide services to 200 families in situations of poverty, offering non-perishable and frozen foodstuffs, fresh food, products for personal care and clothing. The goal of the initiative is also to transform the recipients in active participants by enabling them to organize their shopping bags with the help of a volunteer. The archbishop underlined that the solidarity initiative, as well as the other initiatives carried out by the diocesan Caritas, “would not have been possible without the help of so many people”. The idea of a solidarity emporium, said the director of the diocesan Caritas of Toledo Fr Antonio Espíldora, “came about during the pastoral days celebrated in January 2014”, which offered the opportunity of learning about this experience promoted in Seville. However, the initiative of Toledo “is different in that all products can be taken for free”. Fr Antonio Espíldora explained that the emporium is a “pilot project with a view to its implementation also in other areas”. Slovakia: challenges and responsibility of bioethics The challenges and responsibility of Christian bioethics is the theme of a conference organized by the subcommittee on Bioethics of the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia, scheduled to take place in Bratislava on June 19 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the encyclical “Evangelium vitae”. The main program will consist in round tables on themes such as surrogate maternity, therapies for terminal patients, and new approaches in the treatment of autism. “We expect that bioethics will bring a good news, radical, joyful and efficient in the life of contemporary societies: supporting the implementation of a ‘culture of life’ in the modern world, defending a positive approach towards every human life as a fundamental and precious gift of God”, said Jozef Glasa, member of the subcommittee and one of the organizers of the conference. The event falls within the initiative on the formation of health workers, but it’s open to anyone who is interested. For further information: www.kklz.sk. Czech Republic: diocesan “solidarity farm” A solidarity farm with unique features, jointly set up by the diocese of Litomerice (51%) in conjunction with the regional office of Caritas Ceska Lipa (49%), will begin its activity in the coming days. The investment project, funded with financial compensation under the reconciliation concordat on property between the State and the Catholic Church, will focus on cattle and poultry and the cultivation of fruit and vegetables, within the framework of a social approach and with the goal of providing employment and accommodation to groups of marginalized citizens. “It is one of the mechanisms of modern trade, in an effort to generate financial profits as well as social benefits”, said the promoters of the project. Four people are curr
