Beyond all frontiers” “

The central European Katholikentag, which involves Churches from eight countries in central Europe: Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, began on Sunday 1 June with the reading of the pastoral letter “Christ, hope of Europe” during the course of the Sunday liturgy. It will conclude with a collective pilgrimage to Mariazell in Austria on 22 and 23 May 2004. The theme. The pastoral letter of the presidents of the Episcopal conferences of central Europe, written in Zagreb during the meeting held there at the end of April (on 29 April, feast of St Catherine, patroness of Europe), bears witness for the first time to the collective work of bishops of the eight countries participating in the event, who propose that the objective of the initiative be giving Europe “a supplement of soul”. “A source of strength”, capable of “giving back to Europe its oft-quoted soul” is, for the bishops, the message of the Gospel and could have multiple effects: placing the “the economy at the service of the common good”; making of politics “a place for responsible and more farsighted decisions”, and of social life “a space for promoting the family and the shared decisions of men and women”. “Hopes and concerns” associated with an expanded Europe was another of the subjects tackled. If for some people “the possibility of friendly interaction between peoples, cultures and religions gives rise to hopes that a common voice may arise from our continent”, for others Europe, “with its economic possibilities, inflicts its power on poorer peoples and closes itself in its own wealth”. Space was also given to the “Christian heritage of Europe”, to a universal memory and awareness “of the Christian roots of the continent”, because western culture and its prerogatives “grew from the Gospel”, a fertile territory of social values, human rights, science and great works of art. However, neither should it be forgotten, write the bishops, that “Europe gave birth to disastrous ideologies such as Nazism, Fascism and Communism” and that, in the century that has lately come to an end, the countries of central Europe had to follow “a hard and passionate road”. In consideration of the Katholikentag, the Austrian Church and the Churches of neighbouring countries involved in the event have come together to “offer an active contribution to the re-unification of Europe”. For Cardinal König, archbishop emeritus of Vienna, this will be the occasion “in which it becomes clear how Christianity and its message can overcome frontiers of all kinds”. During a period in which there is so much talk of globalisation, this proposal of the Church represents “a strong signal of hope for Europe”. Events and dates: The organisation is trans-national and through its website at www.katholikentag.at – from where it is possible to access sites in the languages of the various countries involved – enables one to gain an overall vision of the initiative and of its principal events. Among these are the Sunday celebrations of the liturgical year (22 June 2003 Czech Republic, 27 July Bosnia-Herzegovina, 24 August Hungary, 21 September Slovenia, 26 October Austria, 16 November Slovakia, 18 January 2004 Poland, 22 February 2004 Croatia); the special meetings for young people (“the way of reconciliation with the cross of WYD carried by young people in all participating countries in the months of July and August and the prayer vigil of 18 and 19 October in the individual countries “Seek the face of Christ”); the symposia and the pilgrimages. The shrine of the people. The celebrations will conclude on 22 and 23 May 2004 at Mariazell in eastern Austria. The Pope has also been officially invited to return to the shrine which he already visited in 1983, on the occasion of his first pastoral visit to the country.