EUROPEAN CHURCHES: IN BRIEF
Priests, pastoral work assistants and religious from abroad, living and operating in the diocese of Innsbruck, “aren’t just meant to fill the gaps”, claimed the bishop of the diocese Msgr. Manfred Scheuer in the pastoral letter issued at the beginning of the Advent. Msgr. Scheuer recognized and praised the “great contribution” of foreign priests to “the transmission of faith, hope and charity” in Tyrol. “Without them”, he added, “announcing the Gospel would repose on fragile foundations”. Msgr. Schewer recalled that the diocese of Innsbruck today begins its year of the Universal Church. “It should be kept in mind that we are the Universal Church and we belong to it”, he remarked. “One cannot isolate oneself and consider only one’s problems and needs”. “Looking at the Catholic Church as the major religious community in the world allows to understand that Christian faith develops in a dynamic way”; he affirmed. “Considering the many signs of tiredness, resignation and lack of perspectives in our Church and society, the Countries in the ‘South’ of the world teach us the recovery of greater joy in faith and love and the appreciation of hospitality, hope and solidarity”. Mons. Scheuer announced his support to the so-called ‘Global Marshall Plan for and ecology and society-oriented market economy’. The diocese’s support to the project, he explained, is aimed at contributing “to the creation of an ethical-political culture for peace, justice and creation preservation”. Bishop Schewer claimed the need to “counter the increasingly serious unbalances marking human development. Economic globalization should not occur to the expense of the environment, neither of the poor nor of future generations. “Christian faith is inextricably bound to the commitment for justice and reconciliation”, he declared.
