CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Czech republic: book about Catholic ChurchThe Czech Bishops’ Conference in cooperation with the "Karmelitánské nakladatelství" publishing house has recently released a book about the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, offering to its readers an updated information about the life of the Church in the country. "This brochure does not intend to convince its readers about the successes of the Church. It testifies about the Roman Catholic Church as a living institution that has been active in our lands for more than thousand years on spiritual, cultural, social and educational level", explains cardinal Dominik Duka, president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, in the preface to the book. He adds that in the newly published book, a reader is given information about the life and organizational structure of the Czech Catholic Church, offering contacts to individual dioceses as well as other information including their coat-of-arms and bishops, list of Church lay movements, religious communities and congregations. Although the book dwells on the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, it also mentions some basic data about the worldwide Church. The book has been released also in an English version and it’s available online on the website www.ikarmel.cz.Ukraine: Caritas helping with problem of family violenceTo help women identify a problem of family violence and to support them in dealing with it – these are two main goals of a new project of the Caritas office in Drohobych, Ukraine. It is financially supported by the international charitable organization Ukrainian Women’s Fund. According to the Caritas representatives, one of the biggest difficulties in dealing with family violence in the country is that a small percentage of women are capable of admitting that they face this problem in their family and want to change something in their lives. Some eighteen women of various ages and social status have already sought the services of Caritas in this regard. They gather in group meetings to confront the issues of family violence. Seven women have sought individual counseling, feeling that they first have to take about their painful experience priorities. "All individual and group meetings are confidential, since safety and protection are the priorities in this field of counseling", explain the coordinators of the project.Slovakia: youth project for the Year of FaithThe Association of Christian Youth Communities (ACYC) in Slovakia has introduced a new project for the Year of Faith. After a prayer campaign "Adopt a politician" with intention to pray for good political culture and decisions of members of Slovak government and parliament, young people come with a project of preparation of methodical materials regarding the Year of Faith. "We want to unite leaders of youth communities and look for possibilities of cooperation on the national level by regular supply of themes which they could use in respective communities", explains coordinator Zuzana Vengliková. From January until October 2013, the ACYC will provide new instructions and materials twice a month on the website www.animator.sk, focused on topics like preservation of hope in the world, what Christians really believe, how to make steps in development of personal faith in God, how to follow example of biblical figures etc. "Methodical instructions are exact and clear, suitable also for less experienced animators", says Vengliková, adding that along with the Church in the whole world the young people in Slovakia want to deepen their faith and experience the Year of Faith as a "spiritual renewal" in their communities.
