Encouraging young families to give a Christian education to their children: that is the aim of the Bonifatiuswerk of German Catholics for this year’s Diaspora event. “Bring a light into the world!” is its title. It will be officially inaugurated on 4 November with a Mass in Münster Cathedral co-celebrated by the Bishop Reinhard Lettmann and Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky of Berlin, head of the Marriage and Family Commission of the German Bishops’ Conference. “A light in the darkness gives us courage and guidance. Our faith is this light in the darkness of our daily life: in the confusion of all values, it gives us the certainty of being able to direct ourselves completely to God who loves us”, writes Clemens Kathke, general secretary of the Bonifatiuswerk in his letter encouraging Catholics to participate in the event. “Young parents in particular have a need for this security. Only thus can they educate their children to become upright persons. But many fathers – and also mothers – are not sure of themselves. In the midst of all the glaring messages that may attract their attention they may risk failing to see the divine light. They need persons to re-kindle their faith. This year’s Diaspora must encourage all of us to practice our faith in a deeper way and to transmit our religious convictions to others. By doing so we also absolve the task given to us as Christians. Each day. Each hour. Each moment”. Since the 1970s the Bonifatiuswerk has devoted itself to supporting in various ways the faithful scattered in non-Catholic areas in Germany, Northern Europe and the Baltic, assisting them in the organization of Catholic feast days and in activities of apostolate. The initiative will end on 18 November with Diaspora Sunday.
