United Kingdom: funds for research on adult stem cells The Presidents of the Bishops Conferences of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Patrick O’Brien and Sean Brady announced the donation of twenty-five thousand pounds, approximately three-thousand euro, collected through the offerings received on a Day for Life, dedicated to the promotion of research on adult stem cells in the United Kingdom. The sum will be given to “Novussanguis”, an international research consortium on umbilical chords and adult stem cells for therapeutic purposes launched in Paris a few days ago. “Legislation on human fertilization and embryology is focused on the research on stem cells from embryos. In fact, the most remarkable progress was made in the development of clinical therapies which use the stem cells of adults”, the cardinals wrote in the communiqué announcing the donation. “Other emerging techniques have a positive potential, but these avoid the creation and destruction of human embryos. With this donation we wanted to show that the Church is committed in the promotion of science and of the common good”. The cardinals also expressed their positive views on the meeting held by scientists and ethics scholars to discuss the Act on embryology and In Vitro Fertilization approved by the British parliament and strongly opposed by the Churches. The Cardinals reiterated that by focusing on the law on embryos the government is ignoring other techniques which gave better results.Germany: a book on the virtual Church A book on the virtual Church. After ten years since the first experience of Internet pastoral care, with a website presenting the virtual Parish of Saint Boniface, its pioneers presented the book “In the Church with the mouse: real pastoral in the virtual world” at the Katholikentag of Osnabrück. The book collects the experience of a decade of on-line work. Past May 19th, Norbert Lübke, the Pastoral referent for Youth Pastoral Care in Hildesheim, presented the book to Msgr. Hans-Georg Koitz, auxiliary bishop of the diocese. At the address www.kirche.funcity.de, virtual parish, some 20 people offer on-line assistance, take part in chats on Tuesdays and Thursdays and each Sunday send an e-mail with a letter from the parish. Recipients now amouns to 900 living throughout the world, including Canada, Mexico and the Philippines. “We are compelled to use the new media to proclaim the Gospel” Msgr. Koitz declared upon receiving the book. The bishop, who had “blessed” the virtual Church in April 1998, considers the internet-Church experiment successful and a precious follow-through of traditional pastoral care, which remains irreplaceable. On May 24th the virtual Church of Saint Boniface was the object of a round table held during Osnabrück’s Katholikentag attended among others by the sociologist from Friburg Michael N. Ebertz, and Stefan Kemmerling, in charge of the Katholische Glaubensinformation (kgi), the internet-pastoral website.France: a prayer for the Holy Land and for Peace The news concerning the resumption of negotiations between Israel and Syria, and on the solution to the Lebanese crisis with the election of the new President of the Republic will certainly be at the centre of the prayers “for peace and for Christians in the Hoy Land”, regularly held each week in the church of Saint-Leu and Saint-Gilles in Paris. Since the Advent of 1999, each evening at 6.30 p.m. there is a mass for peace and for the Christians living in the Holy Land. While each Friday a prayer is said with the same intentions. “The painful events which take place in Israel and Palestine along with the signs of hope perceived these days – we were told at the French Church – make compliance to this commitment all the more urgent”. For some time already, various Catholics of Jewish origin joined the prayers, which strengthened the ties with the Holy Land. Liturgical celebration is said in Hebrew also for them. Belgium: the 75° anniversary of the Marian apparitions in BanneuxOn Saturday May 31st a Jubilee day will be celebrated for the 75th anniversary of the apparitions of Banneux, when young Mauriette Beco had the vision of the Holy Virgin. This is the most important appointment of this Jubilee and for this reason His Eminence Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of Brussels, will attend the event in his capacities as the Pope’s legate and conveyer of the message of Pope Benedict XVI.Eight bishops will also be present from different Countries including Luxembourg, Rwanda and Congo’s democratic Republic. Thousand of people are expected to arrive at Banneux’s sanctuary. Mega-screens will be set up in order to enable them to participate in the rite. During the Mass special mention will be made of the sick in all European nations. Banneux is part of the network of European sanctuaries along with Fatima and Lourdes. Each year some 600thousand pilgrims come visit it.
