CHURCHES IN BRIEF" "
Belarus: Year of Conversion, the letter of the archbishop “Faith in God is a medicine that heals all our spiritual ailments, which people in our modern times seem to be scarcely immune to”, wrote archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz in his pastoral letter for 2015. This year was declared “Year of Conversion” by the Catholic Church in Belarus, in the framework of the preparations for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima, that will be celebrated in 2017. For the prelate, modern people, including those who declare themselves Christians, tend to rely on their capacities and energies, neglecting the need for penance and prayer. “We often hear that people want to live in total freedom, doing only what they like to do”, reads the letter. “But we belong to Christ, and we are called to obey the law of God, we are called to sainthood.” With these words Msgr. Kondrusiewicz addressed all the faithful, inviting them to live in compliance with God’s plans. “It’s time for a deep transformation of the heart”, continued the archbishop, highlighting the sacrament of confession as a necessary element in the spiritual life of all Catholics. “Let us make sure that the Year of Conversion represents an important moment of our personal conversion and let us return to the Lord, may it be the time of our spiritual purification, so that peace in Jesus Christ may reign in our hearts, and through them, across the world”, concludes the letter. Ukraine: religion, science and globalizationHow does globalization influence world religions? Which methods and interaction models between science and religion can be offered by the representatives of social and humanistic sciences? The answer to this and to many other questions will be proposed in the next annual international conference organized by the Religion and Society Institute. The main theme will be: “Religion and fundamental science in the globalization era”, scheduled to take place next March 20-21 at the Catholic Ukrainian university in Lviv. The main goal of the Religion and Society Institute is to mediate between religious and secular perspectives, between the Church and the realms in civil society, to become a “place where secular thought is committed in a tolerant, constructive dialogue with Church doctrine.” For its director Myroslav Marynovych, the Institute should help social institutions to learn from the experience of the Church, playing an important role in its relationship with society. Czech Republic: success of the Episcopal high-school in Brno The winner of an international history competition that involved 257 high-schools in the Czech Republic and Slovakia is the Episcopal school in Brno, chaired by Professor Martin Dolezel. The school was awarded a record-braking score of 192 out of 215, the best result in the past two decades since the competition was first launched. “Every year the organizers of the competition focus on a specific period of Czech and Slovakian history. This year it was the period 1918-1939, encompassing some of the most significant moments in the history of our two nations”, said Karel Mikula, headmaster of the Episcopal high-school in Brno, adding that the questions are always very difficult and that they require in-depth study and a good knowledge of history. The success of the three students in Moravia was crowned by the personal gifts of Msgr. Vojtech Cikrle, bishop of Brno, while a medal of Saints Cyril and Methodius was presented to the Episcopal high-school in recognition of its educational system.
