The various religious confessions have accepted the Pope’s appeal” “” “” “
The Swiss Catholic Church is also mobilizing itself to respond to John Paul II’s appeal. At Geneva, for example, with the support of the city’s “interreligious platform”, an inter-faith celebration is planned for Sunday 16 December. It will bring together the Christian, Jewish and Moslem communities. Below we report comments and quotations from messages diffused over the last few days in preparation for the 14 December. The bishops: “may good triumph over hatred”. The Swiss Bishops’ Conference last week expressed its deep concern about the present world situation, “characterized by manifold tensions and growing insecurity”. The bishops recall not only the 11 September but also the tragic assault by a lone gunman on the Parliament in Zugg on 27 September, which shocked the town. The bishops firmly believe that the events of recent months must not paralyze the faithful, or instil them with a sense of bewilderment, but on the contrary must “increase the solidarity, and mobilize the prayer of all believers, so that good may triumph over hatred”. The Swiss Episcopal Conference has therefore adopted the Pope’s proposal, and invites all Catholics to participate in the fast day and devolve the offerings to the poor, “particularly to those who are suffering as a consequence of terrorism and war at this time”. On 14 December, the episcopate will transmit a message to Moslems to mark the end of Ramadan. Fasting, opening to God. Fasting gives new strength to prayer. That is the view of Msgr. Pierre Farine, auxiliary bishop of Geneva, according to whom “in the world in which we live today, fasting helps to open our hearts to God. Abstaining from food also expresses our belonging to God”. “The Holy Father’s appeals he stressed – are addressed to everyone, not just to Catholics. But Catholics ought to be the main promoters of this appeal”. The social dimension of fasting. Fasting is at once personal and social. Bishop Farine has observed that a fast has no point without a social dimension. He also recalled the poverty that lies hidden behind the affluence even of Geneva, where 10% of the population live below the poverty threshold. This striking statistic demonstrates that “the whole system is wrong”, explains the bishop: “it’s the disparity between North and South, between rich and poor countries”. That’s why, according to Bishop Farine, the appeal to fast is so important also from the social point of view: social justice must be extended and the appeal involve everyone. The attacks perpetrated in the United States in September are clearly terrorist acts, publicized by the mass media and visible to all, but “all the injustices we experience every day are acts of latent terrorism”. No “to the clash between civilizations”. The Church of Geneva is taking a further step forward in its commitment to peace. The Christian churches, the Jewish and Moslem communities, have in fact drafted an interreligious message and organized a celebration for Sunday, 16 December to oppose “the clash between civilizations”. The interreligious message is signed by pastor Joël Stroudinsky, President of the Protestant Church of Geneva, Pierre Farine, auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Church, Jean Claude Mokry, parish priest of the Christian Catholic Church of Geneva, François Garaï, rabbi of the liberal Jewish Community of Geneva, and Hafid Ouardiri, spokesman of the Mosque of Geneva. “Fasting says the joint message – which leads to a necessary detachment, fosters serenity and the dialogue to promote peace”. Prayer is a way of asking for “the grace of discernment and the sense of justice that open up new ways of repentance and reconciliation”. According to the signatories of the interreligious message, sharing will bring “the benefits of forgiveness, both in the feast of rediscovered brotherhood and in acts of charity to the poorest of our fellowmen, especially the victims of conflicts”.
