CHURCHES IN BRIEF" "
Czech republic: archbishop Graubner on preterm electionsQuestion of property composition between Churches and state in the Czech republic as a pre-election topic is the main theme of the pastoral letter of archbishop of Olomouc, Mons. Jan Graubner. “Let’s take into account the attitude of politicians towards basic moral questions, towards protection of basic human rights and values”, writes the prelate, warning from the support for political parties promoting class, race or religious hatred. “Some politicians have fight against the Church under pretence of restitutions as their program. For twenty years there was no political will to reach an agreement. Finally, we accepted the proposal of government and those who have never wanted an agreement, speak aloud now”, reads the pastoral letter. Archbishop of Olomouc explains that the Church will not get richer by settling the property composition. “State will gradually stop paying clergy and this way there will be lower possibility to intervene in internal life of the Church, which represents problem for some politicians”, adds Mons. Graubner, encouraging people to give their votes in preterm parliamentary elections due to be held on 25-26 October to politicians who support Christian values: “I rely on your mature responsibility and love for God, Church and the nation”. Poland: in memory of “departed children” In Poland, as in many other Countries, October 15th is baby loss awareness day, in memory of stillborn babies and of the newborn died shortly after delivery. “Despite the progress of medicine, babies will continue to die. These tragedies must stop being considered a taboo and parents should no longer left to suffer alone”, states Anna Banasiak on the Catholic website “Opoka”. In recent years, parents’ associations erected memorials for their departed children across cities in Poland, where on Tuesday evening were lit memory lights. Monsignor Zenon Gajda, from the parish of St. Apostles Peter and Paul in Zwiercie, in the region of Upper Silesia where one of those steles was inaugurated, said: “In performing my service I witnessed the suffering of many families who lost their children, without the possibility of grieving or a place commemorating the memory of the dead babies”. Celebrating the suffrage Mass, the auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Czestochowa Mons. Antoni Dlugosz recalled that “every child enjoys the right to life since through conception he becomes a human being, a human person”. Slovakia: biggest Christian bookstore The biggest bookstore with Christian literature was open on 15 October in Ruzomberok, Slovakia, under the management of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Apart from books, its offer includes gifts, liturgical wines and various craft products made by monasteries, as well as a special way of evangelization in a form of the collection of coffee brands entitled “Santi & Beati”, with pictures of saints, their short biographies and quotations. The bookstore is situated at the premises of a new library of the Catholic University in Ruzomberok. “Salesians dedicate their efforts mainly to work with young people, therefore, the university is a natural environment for us”, explains Ján Miko, director of the Don Bosco Publishing House in Slovakia, adding that the offering of valuable Christian titles and services to young people represents a “great challenge” for the Salesians. St. John Bosco has been chosen as a patron of the bookstore and his statue stands right at the entrance. “We don’t want this place to be just a simple shop selling books, but we intend to offer a space for encounters, for spending free time, not only for students but for all visitors”, says Karol Maník, provincial of the Salesians, expressing hope that it will also represent an opportunity to promote the Salesian charisma. For more information: www.donbosco.sk.
