CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Portugal: challenges for the Year of the FaithThe Bible, charity, prayer, knowledge of the Doctrine of the Church, attention to non believers, and relation with Christ are some of the priorities which the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon intends to promote in the diocese in the years 2012 and 2013. This pastoral strategy, published at the site of the Patriarchate, www.patriarcado-lisboa.pt/site/, is meant to "answer the challenges launched by Benedict XVI to the whole Church", with the proclamation of the Year of the Faith, at the same time with the celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II. Msgr. José Policarpo asked practising Christians: "Have we already got in, with the necessary resoluteness, through the door represented by Christ? Or are we just peeping through it? Through the simple natural forces, it is impossible to follow the vital path opened to us through the sacrifice of Jesus". With reference to the Bible, he pointed out that "believers should listen to the Word of God with faith and love, witnessing it". Msgr. Policarpo mentions the suggestion of the Pope by proposing that "Creed should become daily prayer during the Year of the Faith". The document ends with reference to "many people who have not met Jesus, yet", and with the invitation to Christians "to witness and propose the experience of faith strength in daily life to everyone".Ukraine: 600th anniversary of the Lviv archdioceseCelebratory events of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) to mark the 600th anniversary of the transfer of the seat of Lviv Archbishops from Halych to Lviv have been going on since 1 February 2012. The events included the Eucharist Congress, which, according to archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, was "a wonderful experience of the faith and sense of community which is being created by the RCC in Ukraine". In a special letter he invites the faithful to participate in a joint celebration of the Jubilee Year, due to culminate with annual procession in honor of blessed Jacob Strepa. It will be held on 8 September and will traditionally begin in the Sanctuary of St. Anthony of Padua in Lviv, followed by the Eucharistic celebration presided over by cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and special envoy of Pope Benedict XVI for the occasion. The Holy Father addressed a message for the celebrations of the jubilee, released on 1 September, encouraging the faithful to "grow in the virtues and consolidate the Church community through listening and fulfilling the Word of God and the Commandments". The holy mass will be followed by an evangelization concert and evening presentation of the movie about Pope John Paul II entitled "I was looking for you".Czech Republic: Pilgrimage of the nationsA traditional "Pilgrimage of the nations to the Blessed Virgin Mary" will take place in Maria Hilf in the Jeseníky Mountains (Czech Republic) on 15 September. The event with the main theme "United by faith and love" is organized by the custody of this well-known pilgrimage site and will culminate with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne (Germany), and concelebrated by Frantisek Václav Lobkowicz, bishop of Ostrava-Opava (Czech Republic), and Alfons Nossol, archbishop of Opole (Poland). The program will also include a rosary prayer, Way of the Cross and the solemn installation of the relics of blessed John Paul II, given to representatives of Maria Hilf by cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, in the local Church of Our Lady, Help of Christians and Protector of Life. Maria Hilf is not only a traditional place of pilgrimage, but a memorial site, which – according to its custodians – "should remind people all over the world that they cannot be happy and will not live in peace if they do not protect and respect human life from its conception until natural death".Slovakia: a 40-day chain of prayers and fastingA 40-day chain of prayers and fasting for all the priests in Slovakia is to start on 15 September, the feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, patroness of the country. Blessed by archbishop of Kosice Mons. Bernard Bober, auxiliary bishop of Kosice Mons. Stanislav Stolarik, and bishop of Spis Mons. Stefan Secka, the event is organized by the Community of Adoring Priests, established in May 2012 as a response to "growing absence of respect for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, attacks against teaching of the Catholic Church and derogation of Christian faith". The aim of the prayer and fasting chain is to thank God for the gift of priesthood, to ask for strength in crisis and for inner spiritual healing. All priests and faithful are invited to participate and the organizers hope that the nation-wide initiative, due to culminate on 24 October, will encourage also new priestly vocations.
