CHURCHES IN BRIEF
COMECE: renewal of offices and meeting with Junker An intense Spring Plenary Assembly scheduled in Brussels from March 18-20 awaits the bishops of the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). On the agenda of March 18 figures a meeting at the Berlaymont building with the president of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. The analysis and the debate on the priorities of the Juncker team will take place also the following day along with two European officials, deputy director general for Agriculture and Rural Development Rudolf Mögele, and Marcel Haag, chief of staff at the Secretary General of the Commission. The program also includes a Q&A session with Herman Van Rompuy, president emeritus of the European Council. During the last day of the meeting, on March 20, the COMECE presidency for the next three-year term will be elected. As of March 2012 EU member countries episcopacies are headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who in the meantime was elected president of the German bishops and member of the “Committee of Wise Men” of Pope Francis. His post was previously held by Dutch bishop Adrianus van Luyn for 6 years (2006-2012), preceded by German bishop Josef Homeyer (with 4 running mandates, from 1993 to 2006). Spain: Catalan inter-confessional Bible The new edition of the Catalan inter-confessional Bible is ready for print. The “Community Bible” features a foreword by archbishop monsignor Jaume Pujol, president of the Terragon Bishops’ Conference, and avails itself of illustrations by artist Perico Pastor, that authored the front cover design and 21 coloured prints depicting images taken from the Holy Scripture. The new biblical text represents the 12th edition of the Catalan Inter-confessional Bible that includes a revision of the New Testament and Psalms, carried out according to criteria established by the Holy See. According to the Biblical Association of Catalonia and to the Centre of liturgical pastoral care, this new edition is offered “first of all to all the churches in our dioceses, so that it may hold a place of honour in the sacred space. But in ecclesial times marked by two Synods on the Family, we offer it also to families who wish to enthrone the Word of God and make it a benchmark of prayer and family life”. Info: www.abcat.cat. Portugal: priority to the cooperation law In an interview with Portuguese journalistic agency Ecclesia the president of the national Confederation of Solidarity Institutions (CNIS) said that “improvements expected after the so-called Troika left Portugal are not yet evident, although the social climate appears to be marked by greater confidence”. Father Lino Maia remembered that in the years 2008-2014 the downturn was severe, and the Country was in severe poverty. In that situation “from the most distant village of the north to the areas to the West of the Azores solidarity institutions proved to be an authentic social buffer”. “The task characterising these bodies is to be at the service of people, especially of those who are in situations of severe difficulty”. A new project is “to look after old people abandoned in hospitals”. For the president the adoption of a “Basic Cooperation Law” is a priority of the four-year term of the new CNIS board elected January 31 2015. The intention expressed by the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference is to create common statutes regarding at least 41% of institutions directly supported by the Catholic Church, including a large number of social and parish centres. “We are not-for profit bodies, we are at the service of the community, and a basic law is crucial to recover the stability of the entire sector”, concluded Father Maia. Slovakia: conference on the “culture of life” “What can be done to spread the culture of life?” It’s the title of the international conference promoted by the Slovakian bishops Conference due to be held March 24 in Bratislava with the participation of Vatican experts, from Croatia and Spain. “Our Spring conferences have become a consolidated tradition and occupy a central place in the activity of the bishops’ Conference. Last year we spoke of attitude of the Catholic Church towards human rights, while two years ago we dealt with problems linked to gender equality. This year we intend to hold a debate on a very topical issue: “The diffusion of the culture of life”, said Anton Ziolkovsky, executive secretary of the Bishops’ Conference. Immediately after the referendum on the protection of children and the family and a few months before the second national March for life in Bratislava, the Catholic Church will listen to the opinions of the representatives of other Countries and share their experiences on this issue.
