CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Comece: on “EuropeInfos” Ukraine and EU vote “People’s willingness to suffer itself underlines the overwhelming desire for change”: These are the opening remarks of an op-ed by Frank Turner published on the last issue of ‘Europeinfos”, monthly of Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). April’s issue (www.comece.eu/europeinfos) features a contribution by José Ramos-Ascensão on “EU cancer policy”: cancer is the second cause of death in the EU, with 1.3 killed in 2012. An interview with Sylvie Goulard, outgoing French MEP (member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe), tackles several political themes: replying to a question on abstention-risk and of growing support to eurosceptics, she points a finger against national governments that “balk at respecting the treaties that they have signed; they attribute to them every evil to avoid seeing what is going wrong at national level”, against parties that “send as their parliamentary representatives people who had failed in national elections and have too little to offer”, against the media that “give too little coverage of what is happening in Brussels”. Bosnia: pilgrims from Sarajevo to the Holy Land Jerusalem and Sarajevo are two cities that suffered dominations, bound by a common destiny: the coesixtence of religious confessions. This was the fil rouge of the visit to the Holy Land of a group of Bosnian pilgrims accompanied by Cardinal Vinko Puljiæ, archbishop of Sarajevo, by monsignor Tomo Vukiæ, military bishop, and by father Lovro Gavran, provincial of Bosnia. In the pilgrimage took part the president of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Zivko Budimir, and the mayor of Sarajevo, Ivo Komsic. Highlight of the meeting was the celebration at the Getsemani church on March 29, when a memorial plaque was uncovered recalling that the Custody of the Holy Land became the owner of the site, consisting of the Getsemani garden and by the ruins of a Byzantine church, on which was built the Basilica of Agony, thanks to the generosity of three Christians from Sarajevo, who purchased it in 1681 by Muslim authorities. In the celebrations took part also many Croatian Franciscan friars at the service of the Custody (six plus three seminarians undergoing formation) sharing a common past with Bosnia-Herzegovina. Family federation, manifesto for the elections Ahead of the European Parliament elections of May 22-25 the European Federation of Catholic Family associations (FAFCE) launched a “Family Manifesto”: a 12-point document reiterating the centrality of the family born in European society and amidst European policies, which invites the candidates for the Assembly in Strasburg who will sign it to adopt a consistent stand for the protection of the family based on the principle of subsidiarity. “Candidate for the European elections, I commit myself to systematically take into account the needs of the family when making political decisions that have an impact on the society to strengthen the family institution for the good of Europe, fully respecting the principle of subsidiarity, now and in the future”, it states. The Manifesto is circulated via a pan-European campaign titled “Vote for Family 2014”. The purpose of the initiative is “to encourage candidates for the European Elections to promote family friendly policies if elected”. The 12 points of the Manifesto, which partly address areas of EU competence, outline, for example, the need to acknowledge the complementary of man and woman, refusing gender ideology that seeks to erase the sexual differences in public policies”. Signatories are thereby committed to “defend, respect and promote the marriage institution”. Emphasis is placed on the duty to respect human dignity from beginning to natural end of life, to recognize “the value of family work and volunteering”. The manifesto (available by logging on www.voteforfamily2014.eu) equally calls for a balance between family life and professional life”.
