Seven weeks without…” “

Our review of projects for Lent in the countries of Europe continues (see SIR 13 and 16/2004) Germany Lent in Germany also means “fasting from the car”. The car-fasting project is being promoted by the episcopates of Trier, Mainz and Limburg together with the Evangelic Churches of the Rhineland, Hesse-Nassau and the Palatinate, in collaboration with various public institutions and associations for the environment. “One may fast also by renouncing one’s use of the car”, says the presentation of the scheme on the website www.autofasten.de. Its organizers start out from the assumption that “fasting is more than the mere renunciation of food, alcohol or cigarettes” and from the concept of the conservation of the creation. “We use the car because we are in the habit of doing so. And we also know its negative consequences, such as damage to the creation. Fasting may therefore be an occasion to review our use of the car, and try to find alternatives”. Those who decide to make this kind of experience pledge to use public transport or cycle, or simply go on foot, for the whole duration of the scheme, from 7 March to 7 April. Malta “The Gospel cannot be changed; no one in the Church, not even the Pope, can alter the teaching of Christ”. This is one of the central passages in the Pastoral Letter for Lent 2004, published in recent days by the archbishop of Malta, Cardinal Joseph Mercieca, and by the bishop of Gozo, Msgr. Nicholas J. Cauchi. “Some – says the Letter – are saying that the Church ought to revise and modify her own teaching in line with the present time, and adjust it to the desires of man today, otherwise she alone will be to blame for the loss of the faithful”. “Those who make this assertion – explain the bishops, referring in particular to such issues as the conception of life and marriage – forget an aspect of fundamental importance: the teachings of the Church are not human precepts, but the Law of God itself” that “no one, not even the Pope, can alter”. Man cannot “embrace the teaching of Christ only for what he finds to his liking, while continuing to live according to his own desires”. The bishops urge the need for “a process of conversion that may lead to an ever deeper knowledge of the mystery of God’s goodness”; prayer is useful to this end, both “personal and that of the whole community”. “As Christians – exhort the bishops – we have the duty to deepen our faith and put it into practice, without giving way to erroneous convictions”. We therefore need to “strengthen the foundations of our religion” and avoid building our house “on sand”. “Genuine conversion” is required of “every category of Christians, and particularly of the new generations: children, adolescents, young adults”. Portugal Abstinence in order to bring aid to the orphans of southern Africa, to the peoples of the former Portuguese colonies and to the Holy Land: such are the expressions of the Christian charity of Portuguese dioceses during Lent. “To feel ourselves more brothers” the bishop of Leiria (Fatima), Msgr. Serafim Ferreira has invited the faithful in his Lenten message to donate the money they have saved by fasting and abstinence during Lent to “help Christian radio stations in the former Portuguese colonies”. The diocese of Setubal for its part is supporting the creation of “an aid fund for the needy in the diocese of Luanda in Angola”. The diocese of Funchal is sending aid “to orphaned children and adolescents, the victims of terrorism in Southern Africa. Many of these orphans – explains Father Teodoro de Faria – don’t have the basic necessities to survive. That’s why we have created the ‘Forum against crime’, which promotes peace initiatives and takes care of the most desperate cases”. Following the repeated appeals of the Pope, the diocese of Viseu has promoted a collection to help the Christian communities of the Holy Land. Switzerland The Swiss bishops issued an appeal to all the faithful at the beginning of Lent, urging them to support the “Christian communities of the Holy Land, which await from our Churches a sign of hope and of solidarity”. “The continuous news of violence – affirms the Swiss episcopate through its own website – risk inuring us to what is happening there. We are building a barrier round our own hearts. Christians continue to live in the Holy Places and their presence must be helped”. So the bishops appeal to the faithful to resume prayer and pilgrimages, “effective ways of depriving weapons and violence of their voice”.