CHURCHES IN BRIEF
EU/Churches: Seminar on European citizenship”European Citizenship, challenges and advantages” is the theme of a restricted seminar organized jointly by the EU Commission, the COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community) and the “Church and Society” Commission of the Conference of European Churches. The event will be held at the EU Commission’s headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 20. The seminar will deal with some fundamental issues about the EU citizenship, established 20 years ago by the Maastricht Treaty. Dialogue between European institutions and Churches is particularly important in this 2013, which is specifically dedicated to citizenship in the Union. The programme includes several speakers, among whom Fr. Patrick Daly, secretary general of Comece. Among the topics on the agenda: the definition and the concept of citizenship; the contribution of religious communities to increase the sense of citizenship; citizenship and rights. Comece: “Week of Hope” in Brussels”Recovering hope in a difficult time in European history when the vision of the founding fathers is overshadowed by the dramatic consequences of the economic crisis and the growing ghosts of nationalism, populism and xenophobia”. With these words the Comece (Commission of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community) introduces the spirit of the “Week of Hope”, which will open in the heart of the European district of Brussels on Monday, July 23, and will conclude on Thursday 27. A week full of events, guests and initiatives to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Europa”, issued by John Paul II on June 28, 2003. The week will focus on the stories of saints, blessed, men and women who, for “their teaching or the example of their lives, were witnesses of virtue and embodied the values that are at the heart of the European dream”. The calendar of events includes three meetings a day: in the morning (Start your day) with a prayer service; at mid-day (Have a break) with an “appetizing debate”, and in the evening (Finish your day) with a sharing of opinions. During the “Week of Hope” sponsored by the Comece, the reflections will be focused on some themes concerning the presence of believers in today’s society, including the coexistence of different faiths, the public role of women, persecution and martyrdom, the service to the poor and marginalized. Other topics will also be addressed, such as education, economy, fight against crime, and migration. Each topic will be introduced by the presentation of various figures of saints and blessed of the Catholic Church, such as the Polish priest Jerzy Popieluszko, the Austrian Hildegard Brujan, the Spaniard Pedro Poveda, the Italian priest Pino Puglisi, the German Hildegard of Bingen and the British Cardinal John Henry Newman. The week will conclude on June 27 with a Mass in the church of Our Lady of Sablon.Ukraine: Caritas, project for children with cancerPhilanthropists from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Australia continue to finance the project of Caritas Ukraine focusing on providing of medical help to children at the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center. The previous phase of the project, which lasted from October 2011 until February 2013, provided support to 37 families whose children suffer from cancer. The general budget of the project was over 2 million hryvni (257,475 USD). Recently, the Caritas Ukraine has received an additional funding of 649,992 hryvni (81,245 USD) to continue supporting families affected by serious illness. According to donor stipulations, Caritas Ukraine “does not finance surgeries or medical treatment abroad and does not transfer any funds into the private accounts of the sick. These funds can only cover bills for medications needed by minors suffering from cancer”. After all necessary documents have been collected and fact-finding meetings with physicians and parents of the affected children have been completed, the project director specifies the needs of each child, proposes and finalizes an agreement as to the amount of financial support that Caritas is able to contribute to each specific case. Thus, the project assists dozens of Ukrainian families in being able to get access to medications needed for their ill children.Monaco: a tribute to Card. Lustiger in TV FestivalJune 9 through 13, the Principality of Monaco hosted the International Festival of Television. The 2013 Golden Nymph for the Best Film was awarded to the Hungarian production Aglaja, the story of a family of circus Eastern European workers who migrated to Western Europe. Signis, the worldwide association for communication, attributed its Silver Dove to the French film “Le métis de Dieu” (the half-breed of God) by Ilan Duran Cohen on the figure of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, presented here as a significant character in the reconciliation between Jews and Christians. The Special Mention Award was given by Signis to the Japanese film “Autumn at the Poplar House” by Jun Kimura for its opening to spiritual values expressed by prayer and trust. The Festival, established in 1961 by Prince Rainier, is intended to celebrate television as “a means of bringing people together and enrich them with culture”.
