France, Germany, Serbia

France: Bishops about "Mariage pour tous" In the run-up to the parliamentary debate due to take place in France at the end of this month about the bill of law that opens marriage and adoption to gay couples as well ("Mariage pour tous"), politicians cannot disregard the opinion expressed last Sunday by the French citizens, because otherwise they might "impair the good operation of democracy". This is the opinion passed on January 16 in a release by the Permanent Council of the French Bishops Conference that for the first time takes an official stance on the rally of 13th January and the prospects of the bill of law that will be discussed by the national assembly on 29th January. "For many months – reads the release, signed first by the president, cardinal André Vingt-Trois -, we have been alerting the government and the public opinion to the risk of a deep split that would be caused in French society by the bill of law that enables same-sex people to get married and adopt children. This split is all the most deplorable now that our country is going through deep economic and social problems that should lead politicians to bring the country together. The exceptional extent of last Sunday’s rally – the bishops go on – shows, if there was any need to, that such worry was well grounded". In the release, the bishops point out that the people who paraded in the streets in three lines meeting at Champ de Mars were "people from all regions of France, young and old, families with children". People of "all opinions, religions or with no religious beliefs". They paraded "with conviction and without aggression". "In this great diversity – the release goes on -, the common denominator was the acknowledgement of the family, the superior interest of the children, and respect for filiation". Hence the call on politicians not to disregard the public opinion of all these citizens by going on with what they call "a reform of civilisation". And they add: "The mission of politics is to provide a picture of a true social reflection on such social matters as the transmission of life and the nature of human relationships. That’s why we hope that, during the parliamentary debate, the elected members and the politicians will come up with solutions and wordings that are in keeping with the heterosexual character of marriage, filiation and gay people. On our side, as bishops, we call on the Catholic community to continue their reflections on such key issues".Germany: 2012 Report on the family "Creating a family can’t be a factor of poverty-risk", said Peter Neher, president of German Caritas, commenting on the Report on the Family-2012, presented on January 16 by the federal Minister for the Family Kristina Schröder. The Report shows and increase in birth rates, it highlights the resilience of traditional family unity along with the emergence of new forms of families. According to the Catholic portal "katholisch.de", Neher said that "family-work balance continues being a distant goal", and called upon the government to regulate the "right to family care whilst providing public childcare services". Neher proposed the adoption of a 300 euro monthly benefit to all families, since "single parents and those with low wages need financial support for their children". Moreover, political decisions must be based "on the criteria of family sustainability". Also the Federation of Catholic Families, by voice of its president Elisabeth Bußmann, called upon policymakers to "ensure that families enjoy the best possible circumstances" and to continue to defend marriage, as "provided for in the national Constitution". Serbia: celebrations for the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan A concert at the National Theatre in Nis, Serbia, inaugurated the celebrations marking the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, adopted by Roman Emperor Constantine in 313 to end religious persecutions. The opening ceremony was attended, inter alia, by Serbian President Tomislav Nikoliæ, His Holiness Irenej, patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and Msgr. Orlando Antonini, apostolic nuncio in Serbia. In a phone interview with SIR Europe, Msgr. Antonini answered questions on the absence of Pope Benedict XVI to the celebrations in Serbia. "There have been historical problems that still prevent such visit from taking place", he said. "But the first steps have been made, such as the fact that the Archbishop of Belgrade, Msgr. Stanislav Hocevar is present as a delegate of all the Catholic bishops of Serbia in the organizing committee of the celebrations (chaired by the President of Serbia and the patriarch Irenej). It is also the first time that a representative of the Holy See has taken the floor at an opening ceremony. "These are long historical processes – said the nuncio -. We must have faith, create the premises, know each other, delve into the various positions and above all have an attitude marked by love and brotherhood. Historical knots take time to be dissolved, but at least it can be said that that path is being followed". In his speech, the Nuncio spoke of religious freedom, enacted for the first time in history with the Edict of Constantine, t meant to recognize such right to Christians and to all believers. This, noted Msgr. Antonini, "is freedom of conscience, a major achievement of political, legal and ethical culture". It was, concluded the nuncio, "an essentially Christian event, for Christians were the ones who forced those in positions of political power to recognize that there are rights of the human person prior to the State. The State must recognize and guarantee". Celebratory events will end on October 28. Card. Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, on September 21 will take part in a pilgrimage to Nis (southern Serbia), birthplace of Emperor Constantine.