CHURCHES IN BRIEF
France: the bishops’ ad Limina visit to the Pope The family, "the foundation of social life", is "threatened in many places by wrong conceptions of human nature. Protecting life and the family in society is not retrograde, but rather prophetic, because it means promoting the values that allow the full development of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God". Benedict XVI spoke of the family in his address to the French bishops on their ad limina visi tSeptember 21. A topic that has provoked fierce debate in France after French Justice Minister, Christiane Taubira, announced that she would submit a draft law to the Council of Ministers allowing homosexual couples to get married and adopt children as of the first half of 2013. "We are confronted with a real challenge", the Pope said, reminding bishops of what he had written in his Apostolic Exhortation "Sacramentum caritatis": "Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself". In his long address to the bishops, the Pope recalled "the Christian roots" on which France "is based" since "its origins". Furthermore, the Holy Father added, "the challenges of a largely secularised society urge us to show courage and optimism in seeking responses, to propose with boldness and creativity the permanent newness of the Gospel". In this regard, the Pope also referred to the process of pastoral renewal started by the French Catholic Church, namely the fact that parishes have been grouped together to respond to the decrease in vocations and guarantee quality celebrations. "However, the Pope remarked – the solution to diocesan pastoral problems should not be limited to organisational issues, important though they are". In fact, there is a risk of creating a sort of "bureaucratisation of pastoral work", which would have little effect on the life of Christians who are distant from regular practice. Evangelisation instead – Benedict XVI concluded – demands that we start from an encounter with the Lord". In his address to the Holy Father, cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard spoke about the love of the Church "for the men and women of our times" and of the task "to undertake a discernment" amidst the various currents of thought in order to identify "what is beneficial and what is harmful to the human person". His Eminence added: "In the coming weeks we will be called to remember the fundamental meaning of marriage, of the family and offspring".Nord Europa: vescovi su Anno della fede As part of the autumn plenary meeting of the North European Bishops Conference (Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway), that ended September 20, in the Cathedral of Christ the King on Sunday 16th September the diocese of Reykjavik (Iceland) marked the opening of the Year of Faith (11th October) in front of all bishops. The news was given by a press release. The president of the North European Bishops Conference, mgr. Anders Arborelius, urged the devotees to "be the witnesses of their faith, to grow in faith and to inspire confidence in other people". The North European bishops will play "a proactive role in evangelisation", and their contributions will be published all over the region and translated into multiple languages. The region’s seminaries currently host about 60 future priests: "for a stronger, closer cooperation between the superiors of such institutions – the release goes on -, the bishops have organised a rectors’ conference". The North European bishops also made an appeal for peace in Syria and in the Middle East. Quoting the Pope’s words in Lebanon, they deplore the "persisting state of desperation" of an "ever rising number of victims" and "call on the nations and international organisations to immediately and permanently put an end to the fights in Syria". "May the fighting parties – they wished – engage in real, significant dialogue".Switzerland: the bishops on the "Innocence of Muslims"The Swiss Bishops too say they are "shocked" at the images of the film "Innocence of Muslims" and decided to write a letter to the "Muslim devotees" to relay to the Islamic communities the statement made by the Vatican spokesman, father Federico Lombardi, which reiterates that "a deep respect of believers, texts, great personalities and symbols of different religions is one of the prerequisites for a peaceful cohabitation of peoples". Signed by the Secretary General of the Swiss Bishops Conference, Erwin Tanner-Tiziani, the letter goes on to express to the Muslim devotees "the esteem" of the Swiss Bishops, who insist on the importance of inter-religious dialogue. "Violence will never be an adequate response to a challenge", state the Bishops, who add that they are willing "to do all they can to boost dialogue while respecting the differences and human dignity of every believer. We think it is important to remind those who have been offended in their religious feelings – the letter ends – that the God of Mercy will know how to bless every effort made towards mutual understanding and respect as well as any wish for genuine fraternity within the human family".
