CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Portugal: at the "Court of Gentiles"In an interview to news agency Ecclesia, Portuguese coordinators of the Vatican initiative "The Court of Gentiles" due to be held in the cities of Braga and Guimarães on November 16 and 17, underlined that "the Church wishes to take part in the 2012 celebrations of European youth and culture capitals, thus finding the way to show to the world all of its vitality". "The Court of Gentiles is sociality, sharing, opportunity of openness and dialogue, encounter without prejudice, regardless of the differences of race, faith, age" said the general vicar of the Archdiocese of Prague father José Paulo Abreu. "Participating is a sign of openness, sympathy, welcome". "Diversity is enriching, and debate is an enrichment in the quest of individual progress and for the progress of all Portugal". The general coordinator of the initiative, Isabel Varanda, said that the institutional presence of the Catholic Church is meant to be discrete and proportionate, in an event that is open to non-believers and agnostics. "Everyone is invited to get out of their traditional areas of reflection and belief, to enter and meet in a neutral place, that is accessible to all". The encounter, dedicated to the theme "The value of life", brings together thinkers from diverse areas and disciplines, with the participation, in the first day of the meeting, of the president of the Pontifical Council of Culture Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. "In the Court of Gentiles there is a land where people can inscribe their words and voice their right and duty to the self-determination of a project and a lifestyle that is appropriate to the human person, and that is an essential practice for the construction of democracy", concluded Isabel Varanda. Ukraine: UGCC, pastoral care for the deafThe Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) plans to pay more attention to the pastoral care for people with hearing impairments, in a form of special academic programs. They should contribute to the formation of priests, religious and lay volunteers in regard to topics like deafness in theological terms, approach to and provision of services for the deaf belonging to the Universal Church, the establishment of religion-based communities of people with hearing impairments, and sharing of practical experience of the UGCC Center "Hope" which deals with specific aspects of the pastoral care for the deaf. The formation seminars will start in the following weeks and will last also during 2013. They will be based on documents and materials concerning the above topics, including two books: "Service, where no birds sing" and "To see means to pray".Austria: greater intra-European solidarity The EU needs the Churches’ commitment for a positive development: said EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn on November 7 in Brussels, during the meeting with Austrian bishops, present in the Belgian capital for the spring plenary. "Europe is something more than economic union", said Hahn. "It also is solidarity and mutual help in times of crisis". The Austrian Commissioner, responsible of regional policies of the EU, invited the bishops to be engaged in a greater awareness because "Europe is all of us". Hahn welcomed the decision of the Austrian bishops’ conference to gather for the first time in Brussels, "an important sign that will act as an example for other organizations, up to the Austrian government", he said. Intra-European solidarity should be stepped up, "towards Greece, for example" and on the flow of refugees, "which can’t be handled by Italian or Spaniards alone". Another important theme, for Hahn, is the Balkans’ integration in the EU, on which "the Austrian Catholic Church, because of its history, can provide an important contribution".
