CHURCHES IN BRIEF
COMECE: debate and Mass for Europe With a view to the elections for the European Parliament, scheduled to take place in May 2014, the Secretariat of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) is planning a set of conferences for the coming months on “Europe, politics and beyond.” The first conferences will take place on October 11 at the Chapel for Europe, in the heart of the European neighbourhood in Brussels, on the theme: “The common good.” The COMECE Secretariat chaired by Fr Patrick Daly and the team of Chapel for Europe made known that “a fundamental goal of the European project has always been the exercise and the protection of the common good.” From this perspective “Nation States have sacrificed part of their sovereignty for the higher good of the entire European family.” “How far has the furtherance of the common good gone today, given the ongoing financial crisis?” The question will be addressed by Fr Patrick Riordan, Jesuit, Professor at Heythrop College in London. On October 2 will be celebrated the “Missa pro Europa” at the Notre Dame au Sablon church in Brussels (www.comece.eu).Spain: teaching of religion in school “Religious education can’t be taken hostage by political strategies. It’s unacceptable that each time a political party is in power educational plans are changed to suit the party’s ideology, without seeking societal consensus.” It is stated in the letter in defence of religion jointly signed by teaching delegates from the Spanish diocese of San Sebantiàn, Bilbao and Vitoria, as a response to the article “Religion in the classroom” written by the former Councillor for Education of the Basque government Isabel Celaá, which argues against religious teaching in public schools. The document rejects the opinion of the ex-Councillor, according to whom “the non-academic content of religious education is mere catechesis.” For the diocesan delegates “it is evident that religious education in schools prompts reflection on Christian religion from a confessional standpoint, but this doesn’t mean that it is a catechesis.” In fact, “while the purpose of catechesis is the encounter with God in faith, religion classes delve into the knowledge and the content of religion and its influence on society.” This is the reason why Catholic religion classes are open to believers and members of other religions alike. The document stresses that the number of pupils who opt for religion classes has dramatically decreased after the government’s Education Council decided to hold the classes in after-school hours. The first Catholic Social Week in Hungary The first Catholic Social Week in Hungary took place in Budapest from September 20-22. It is an initiative of the Commission Caritas in Veritate of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference, welcomed with enthusiasm and participation inside the Church, which is present in various areas of social service. Showing to the larger public the concrete response of the Church to contemporary challenges was the main purpose of the three-day meeting. The events held in the framework of the Week took place in Budapest city centre, in the garden of the National Museum and in neighbouring ecclesial structures. Among participants figured representatives of organizations in support of those in need of spiritual and material help such as the homeless, disabled people, as well as drug-addicts and detainees. The events featured the presentation of initiatives and personal testimonies as well as conferences to spread awareness on the social doctrine of the Church. The Week was inaugurated by cardinal Péter Erdõ, president of the Bishops’ Conference, by Archbishop Alberto Bottari de Castello, Apostolic nuncio in Hungary, and by bishop András Veres, president of the Commission Caritas in Veritate of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference. Poland: the role of the laity and the new evangelization The “new evangelization” will be successful only if local parishes are involved rather than promoting initiatives at national level, agreed participants in the second national Congress on the New Evangelization held in Warsaw September 17-22. The Congress appealed to “reawaken the giant” – i.e. the laity – to promote the pastoral idea of the parish as a “living and enlivening community.” The final message of the Congress highlights the role of pastoral conversion “in furthering the richness of the Church with various means and methods that may help the transformation and the renewal of parishes.” The new evangelization, that involves 60% of the overall population in Poland – speakers underlined during the meeting – must be accomplished “with a wide participation of the laity.” The prelates remarked that Polish Catholics must bring about a Copernican revolution by realizing that they are responsible not only for those who identify themselves in the Church but even more for those who are out of it.”
