CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Czech Republic: helping victims of floodsMore than 11 million CZK (440,000 EUR) has been collected by Caritas Czech republic (CCR) to help people affected by heavy floods that hit several regions of the country in April and May this year. "The aid provided by Caritas is for anyone in need, regardless of his or her religious belief", said cardinal Dominik Duka, archbishop of Prague, evaluating the measures of material and spiritual help provided by the national office on Caritas. "Our material help is provided on the base of thorough examination of the situation, with special focus on those who are socially emarginated, those who – because of high age of bad financial situation can’t be left on their own", explains Martin Zamazal from CCR. The biggest charitable organization in the country has already distributed aid in total value of more than 6.5 million CZK, mainly in a form of desinfectants and cleaning agents (almost 9,000 liters) and over 5,500 pieces of various kinds of cleaning equipment. According to Jan Oulík, responsible for public and media relations of CCR, the most affected households have been provided with over 200 special dryers and dessicants, and dozens of volunteers are still helping in flooded areas. "There’s a great spirit of cooperation which – despite the damages done by water – encourages people and makes them more optimistic", shares his feelings Jan Havelka, crisis coordinator of Caritas office in Znojmo, adding that the worst stage of the crisis is over. However, many people will have to wait another months until the walls of their homes are dry enough to return to normal life.Hungary: number of Christians has droppedHungary has become more secularised over the past ten years with the number of faithful of the top three Christian Churches – Catholic, Reformed and Luteran – shrinking from 73% to 53% of the population, combined. According to the website www.politics.hu, citing results of the latest 2011 census and the study published on www.evangelikus.hu, the proportion of Christians fell most in Budapest. The number of non-affiliated people or those declining to answer a question on religion in the census has increased to about 2.7 million combined (of Hungary’s total population of just under 10 million). However, it is difficult to say how many of these people are actually non-religious, Gabor Harrach, the study’s author, said. As he added, based on voter data by geographical regions in Hungary, the right-wing voters were not necessarily more religious and left-wing voters and liberals were more likely to decline to answer the question on religion. Precise results of the last census have shown that 39% of Hungarians claim to be Catholics, 11.6% Calvinists, 2.2% Lutherans. Around 2% follow other religions, 16.7% are non-religious.Romania: Catholic edition of the BibleLong awaited by Catholics in Romania, the full text of the Bible is now available in Romanian language, Catholic edition. Translated from the original texts in Hebrew, Aramaic and Ancient Greek by a group of professors of the Theological Seminary of Iaşi, the Catholic Bible in Romanian was presented in Iaşi on June 28. The event was attended by the bishops of Iaşi, Bucharest and Chisinau, by the archbishop of Riga (Lithuania), Mgr. Zbigņevs Stankevičs, as well as by many academics, priests, religious and lay faithful. Italian attendants included Luca Mazzinghi, president of the Italian Biblical Association, Stefano Pisano, vice-rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, Giuseppe Pulcinelli, Lateran University, and Marco Settembrini, Faculty of Theology of Emilia-Romagna. In addition to the text of the Holy Scripture, the volume also includes general and special introductions to each book, notes, biblical references, and is enhanced with a glossary, the calendar of the Old Testament, a synoptic table of the Gospels, an index of liturgical readings, maps, and images. It is the first complete Catholic translation of the Bible in Romanian. So far, both for private use and for in-depth study, the Catholics in Romania used the Orthodox and Protestant versions of the Bible in Romanian.Poland: Card. Dziwisz on beatification of Pope John Paul II"We are grateful to Benedict XVI, who opened the beatification process, and to Francis, who firmly brings it through to the solemn and official declaration of sainthood". This was said by cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Cracow, after the press gave news yesterday of the final approval of the second miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul II. Interviewed by a Polish radio, the cardinal said that, "as the special secretary of the Holy Father John Paul II, I had the privilege of being witness to his sainthood, and I thank God for being able to rejoice in life for the raising to the glory of the altars of a father in faith and in priesthood and of the one whom I served with love through to his last heartbeat". The archbishop says he believes that the College of Cardinals’ approval of the miracle that took place through the intercession of Karol Wojtyla not only "confirms the sainthood of John Paul II" but "proves, once more, that the way to sainthood that he took is safe and is an example to be followed".
