CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Czech Republic: museum on religious and communism A Museum of Internment of Women Religious was opened on 7 September in Bílá Voda, Czech Republic. The village on the border between Czech Republic and Poland became a place of forced internment for hundreds of women religious from various orders and congregations in the fifties of the last century. Many of them are buried at the local cemetery which was declared a National cultural memorial in 2000. The museum intends to remind future generations of inhuman treatment of women religious by the communist regime in former Czechoslovakia. Many representatives of the Church, political and cultural life from Czech Republic and Poland were present at the opening ceremony, including archbishop of Prague, cardinal Dominik Duka, and bishop of Ostrava-Opava, Frantisek Václav Lobkovicz. The program included blessing of the museum’s exposition, guided tour and holy mass in the local Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary.Slovakia: a pilgrimage for the defense of life "Those who protect life from conception until natural death realize that alone they have no chance of winning the battle with the extremely aggressive nature of contemporary times which sows the seeds of death. For that reason, they ask for help from the Mother of God who protected her Son and wants to protect people also today". With these words, the archbishop of Presov, Mons. Ján Babjak, turned to the faithful in his homily in Lutina, to mark the culmination of a week-long pilgrimage of the icon of Our Lady of Czêstochowa all over the country. The event took place from 31 August until 8 September as a part of the project "From Ocean to Ocean" in favour of the "civilization of life and love". Thousands of faithful in Slovakia joined the prayer initiative in favour of the protection of life, bringing testimony about God’s truth and confirming that the Christian values still have their say in society. The icon visited 24 Catholic and Orthodox Churches in all corners of Slovakia and on 8 September it was handed over to representatives of pro-life organisations from Hungary to continue its journey throughout 24 countries participating in the pilgrimage from Vladivostok to Fatima.Germany: criticism of the debate on circumcisionThe lively tones in the debate on circumcision in Germany were criticized by Alois Glück, President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZDK). The news was reported by the German Catholic news agency Kathpress. In a press conference held on September 10 in Munich, Glück deplored the "arrogance" and "the failure to understand other religious traditions and symbols", coupled by a "visible amount of intolerance across society". The ZDK president also conveyed his opinion on the debate regarding Church reform in Germany, observing that "there is little time to undertake the necessary changes" and invited the clergy and the laity to "handle the diversity of opinions and conflicts with greater serenity", since "inner plurality is not a threat but a richness for the Church". Glück underlined that "the Catholic Church must be more attentive to societal changes and to the changes inside the Church". He called for "visible progress for concrete changes" in view of the meeting on the dialogue process tabled the coming week-end in Hannover.Ukraine: president Yanukovych to Roman Catholics On the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the transfer of the metropolitan seat of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) in Ukraine from Halych to Lviv, president Viktor Yanukovych issued a greeting address to the Catholics, appreciating the "theological and cultural achievements" of the RCC in Ukraine, which "enriched the sacral heritage of our country considerably". According to his words, "today’s event is an excellent opportunity to touch upon the roots of the Christian creed", to thank the previous generations of the faithful for their spiritual feats. "We should show special respect for all the leaders of the Lviv cathedra of the Latin Rite. It’s thanks to their zealous Church activity that the firm foundation of the spiritual growth of the believing community was laid, the Christian values of good and justice were established, the way of active social ministry of the Church was paved", concludes the greeting address of the president to the Roman Catholics.
