CHURCHES IN BRIEF" "
COMECE: new opportunities for youths “New opportunities for young people”: it is the title of the meeting organized in Brussels by the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) next September 4. “Young people in Europe are today confronted with various challenges: the crisis and the resulting dramatic increase of youth unemployment, rapidly changing living conditions and an ageing population”, states the invitation. “During the conference urgent questions and potential political and practical responses shall be discussed. Beside the need for strong education and youth policies, it shall also be made clear that young people’s demands must be respected across the board”. The Conference – organized by COMECE in conjunction with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Rete Juventutis, Don Bosco International – is divided into three sessions. The first panel will address the situation young people are confronted with when entering the labour market. The second panel will discuss the preconditions of participation and inclusion of young people. Registration is open to all participants. Information is available on the website www.comece.eu. WYD, two thousand participants from Germany Some two thousand German pilgrims are expected to attend the WYD in Rio, states the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) in a release. “I am pleased to live the WYD along with the young pilgrims. Pope Francis will undertake his first major visitation abroad in Brazil. We are looking forward to witness his encounter with the youths with great expectation”, said Msgr. Karl-Heinz Wiesemann, president of the DBK Commission for the Pastoral Care of the Young. “Rio is a city whose emblem is the statue of Christ with open arms. In the same way, Rio will welcome also WYD pilgrims, for whom the Christ of Corcovado is much more than a touristic attraction. I believe that the WYD in Brazil, with a Latin-American Pope, will give a visible sign of solidarity and justice in the world”, Wiesenmann continued. Blanka Mohr, director of the Office for the Pastoral Care of the Young (Afj), coordinator of the German delegation in Rio, remarked: “On many occasions the Pope has been unconventional. This makes us appreciate the event even more, since we do not know what will happen”. Simon Rapp, president of the Federation of German Young Catholics (BDKJ) underlined that the “WYD is the celebration of faith in a large community, and also an international meeting. Especially during the missionary week preceding the WYD, young people learn more about their peers, the Church and the culture of Brazil”. In Rio, BDJK organized with the charities Misereor and Adveniat the event “International Youth Hearing” (scheduled to take place July 24) during which young people will discuss their vision of a just world, to the presence of Brazilian authorities. Portugal: Christian education in schools In a message released a few days ago, the president of the Bishops’ Commission for Christian Education and the Doctrine of Faith addressed parents and school educators in the Country underlining the importance of Moral and Religious Christian Education (EMRC) for the “creation of better schools”. Msgr. António Francisco dos Santos said he hopes that “in EMRC lessons pupils may find the answers they merit, and identify the values that strengthen the horizons of their faith”. The prelate said that in the days of school registration it is necessary to double the efforts aimed at raising the awareness of families, schools and communities on the opportunities provided by Christian education with regard to the moral formation of the young Portuguese generation. “EMRC lessons are not imparted as a form of charity, nor should they be imposed. Rather, they should be deserved. Schools have the right to demand that these classes are provided by the community as a whole, understood as a veritable commitment for the common good and the educational cause”, said the bishop of Aveiro: “School education should reflect the whole community highlighting its most beautiful aspects. EMRC provides students with an interdisciplinary contribution in terms of beauty, moral values and the meaning of life”. Msgr. Francisco dos Santos described this theme as “a living act performed by the community as a whole”. He concluded by saying that “deciding to be a student means to undertake avenues of human dignity, living the appeal of the transcendent, with the lucidity necessary to face every day life in the best way”.
