CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Czech Republic: pro-life march until October A series of marches for life are taking place in several regions of the Czech Republic with the purpose of “attracting attention on the injustices committed against children and against their mothers” with voluntary pregnancy interruption. The first of these events was held on June 24 in Brno to “encourage people to let unborn children live and promote this effort with all possible means”. The coordinators of the Movement for Life (MfL) have also organized a march that will take place in Prague July 1st titled: “Courage for Life”. “We are grateful to all those who support us. This will increase the chances to protect human lives. Every voice can help someone find a way out of desperation”, said Marie Snopkova, member of the organization. For further information: http://hnutiprozivot.cz. The last march for life will take place October 19. Slovakia: celebrations for Cyril and Methodius A wide range of activities and events are being planned in all dioceses of Slovakia on the occasion of the Feast of the Saints Cyril and Methodius, patron Saints of the Country and co-patrons of Europe. Even though the main celebrations will take place July 5, the village of Terchova will host the XXVI edition of the Cyril-Methodian days starting July 2. The program is rich with cultural events, Masses, adorations, conferences and catechesis on various subjects regarding life and the mission of the two brothers from Tessalonica that evangelized the region 1150 years ago. “Our festival is one of the events with the highest number of attendants in Slovakia. Once people come they return year after year because they know that this is the place where the world of tradition and that of spirituality and culture meet in a unique way”, organizers explain. The village of Terchova is one of the few in the Country that managed to preserve close ties with popular and religious traditions. Moreover, as it was the hometown of the “national legend” of the 18th century, Juraj Janosik, who “stole from the rich to give to the poor”, it occupies a special place in the history of Slovakia. Ukraine: Lviv, summer school of language and culture “A summer you will never forget”: this is the title of the 13th Summer annual program in Lviv, that will be hosted at the Catholic University of Ukraine in the two coming months. The project envisages a unique combination of lessons in Ukrainian language and a rich cultural program. Participation in the Ukrainian language course offers students the opportunity of a “total immersion in one of the liveliest and culturally diversified cities in Europe”. According to the representatives of the University, Lviv is “an open-air museum that exhibits both the traditional Ukrainian culture and the European classical appeal”, and it is justly called “the soul of Ukraine”. Along with the main goals of the project, the University will not miss this opportunity to present the rich Christian patrimony of Ukraine, which also represents the foundation and the central nucleus of all the activities of the athenaeum. The academic credits obtained attending this program of studies are applicable across most colleges in North America and in European and Australian universities. For further information: www.ucu.edu.ua. Spain: childhood rights, prize to the “Scholas” The world school network on the encounter promoted by Pope Francis, Scholas Occurrentes, was awarded a Unicef Prize by the Spanish Committee Moviliza, presented to projects or initiatives developed with the purpose of raising public awareness on childhood and on the rights of the child. The Scholas network was awarded in recognition of its commiment for inclusive education and for the integration of various communities, especially those with fewer resources, and in recognition of its fundamental role as a project encouraging the right to education. The prize was given to the director general of the Scholas Occurrentes, José María del Corral, in Madrid by Queen Letizia. “This recognition strengthens our commitment to bring in all the world the mandate we were given by our Pope Francis to promote the values of the culture of encounter for peace through education”; said the president of the Scholas who underlined that in order to change the world its is necessary to start changing education. José María del Corral explained that the Scholas project is like “a class without walls”, where youths from across the world meet and live together with the goal of a pacific world where encounter is possible. Scholas Occurrentes and Unicef have been working together for various years, Past April they signed a 5-year agreement aimed at extending access to young people – notably those most disadvantaged – to technology, sport and the arts.
