18 November, Prisoners’ SundayThe British prisons, which are overcrowded and where the suicide rate is rising all the time, will be the focus of the prayers of the Catholic Church of the United Kingdom on November 18th, “Prisoners’ Sunday”. The Catholics will pray for the prisoners, their families and the prison staff. All the parishes of the United Kingdom received from the “Prison Advice and Care Trust”, founded in 1898 by some Catholic lawyers, some information materials about prisons, including prayers for intercession and some ideas for the children’s liturgy. The campaign has been supported by card. Murphy O’Connor, leader of the British Catholics and president of said charity: “over the last few months, the population of the British prisons has increased and is now at 81,000 prisoners, the highest number ever. The system is on the verge of collapse, due to overcrowding and to the shocking rise in the suicide rate. Christ teaches us to believe in the dignity and value of every human being and in the possibility of redemption, whatever one has done. Through justice, mercy and hope, everyone becomes part of God’s design”.Hybrid embryos against moralityAn unprecedented attack against the dignity of human life that paves the way to sinister tests”, this is the definition given by Anthony Ozimic, secretary of the “Society for the protection of unborn children” (Spuc), one of the most important associations of the British pro-life movement, to the new act that permits hybrid embryos, part human, part animal, to be produced. The act that was announced yesterday by the Queen in the opening speech at Parliament will have to be voted by Parliament before it can be passed: it extends the possibilities of in vitro fertilisation and broadens the definition of the word “embryos” to include embryos produced through cloning or other processes, deregulates even more the testing on embryos before they are transferred into the mother’s uterus, and permits gametes, sperm or eggs to be taken from patients without their consent. According to the Spuc, the fact the act is supported by the Government makes it more likely to be passed. The British pro-life movement will also try to introduce amendments to the act, while discussed by Parliament, to raise the time limit for legal abortion, which is currently 24 weeks. “The testing on embryos is against morality and is promoted by economic interests”.Evangelizing the youngA national plan for evangelising the Catholic youth of England and Wales and rooting their life in Christ was presented in Leeds on 6 November. It was explained to representatives of all twenty-two dioceses of England and Wales and of the most important youth movements by the Most Rev. Ambrose Griffiths, the bishop with responsibility for evangelization and catechesis, and by Helen Bardy, director of the Catholic Youth Service of England and Wales. “We have been working on the plan for six years. We have studied the youth groups in the various parishes and have noted that some specialize in social work, others in catechesis or in the liturgy and sometimes the right balance is not struck between the various aspects or the spiritual dimension is forgotten”, explains Helen Bardy. “It’s important that the various youth groups cultivate various dimensions and do not forget that of the Gospel”. “On Monday and Tuesday we’ll begin a dialogue with the dioceses and with the associations so as to involve them in our project”, continues Helen Bardy. The bishops wish to ensure in this way that the youth of the various parishes know that as Catholics they have a particular charism to spread, built round the figure of Christ.A website for young people in search of their callingIt is called “catholicgapyear.com” and it is the website promoted by the National Offices for Calling and for the Youth Pastoral of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales to make the best of the “gap year”, i.e. the year at the end of one’s high school or university that very many young people spend travelling or doing volunteer work in search of their calling. According to the English Bishops, “it is also an excellent opportunity for their faith”. So, for the first time, the Catholic Church has collected and published on one single website all the options available to those who want to spend such time in a religious project. “We do not mean to say that the young should spend their “gap years” with the organisations listed on the website only”, explains father Paul Embery, in charge of the National Office for Callings of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales, “we want them to think about the options offered by the Church. We realised that many young people who do volunteer work in spheres of faith cultivate their religious dimension and end up serving the Church and the community they belong to, sometimes going for priesthood or religious life as well”. 300 Catholic high schools and every university chaplain will soon receive funds for the new campaign.
