Portugal: migration, a factor of self-developmentJanuary 20 marked the last day of the VIII Meeting of Social and Pastoral Workers of Migrations, promoted by Portugal’s Catholic association of Migrations (Ocpm), by Caritas, and by the agency Ecclesia, with the participation of 60 delegates from relative Secretariats and 14 dioceses. In the course of the debate, focused on the topic of “Immigration and cooperation for development”, the director of the magazine Além-Mar, Father Manuel Augusto Ferreira, declared that: “helping migrants to a establish more concrete approach to their savings, so as to prevent their income from being rapidly consumed, must become a priority for those organizations committed in their support”. “These resources must be employed for the development of the Country of origin in order to improve the standard of living of the migrants’ relatives and the social context which they live in”. The head of the Combonian Missionaries added: “it is also necessary that cooperation and development projects optimize expertise and qualified labor, by encouraging professionals to return to their homeland to become the protagonists of the sustainable development of their home Countries”. According to Father Ferreira, in order to transform migration into a factor of local development, three main obstacles need to be overcome: “The first relates to the legal situation of migrants: solving their clandestinity and combating criminal activities and mafia interests”. “Secondly, it is necessary to change the attitudes of entrepreneurs who opt for low-cost labor instead of investing in new job opportunities, technology and on-site productive activities”. “The last challenge involves governments, which must cease using immigration as a weapon to put pressure upon European Countries to obtain better cooperation conditions along with financial and military support, and start viewing citizens as the engine of National development”.Germany: the Day of Catholics 2008″Shaping the future”: this is one of the major topics of the forthcoming Day of Catholics which will be held in Osnabrück next May 21-25. The program of the event was presented a few days ago in Osnabrück by Hans Joachim Meyer, President of the Central Commission of German Catholics (Zdk), along with the bishop of the city, Franz-Josef Bode. During the presentation to journalists, Meyer and Bode declared that the topic could be the leitmotif of the debates on Church and faith, as well as of the dialogue with social society, on politics, with other religions and cultures. The Katholikentag of Osnabrück will draw emphasis on the “large horizons which allow us to breathe freely encouraging us to take steps forward”. It will highlight the “scope of peace which confers faith in the potentials of human life”, Meyer declared. The “Katholikentag isn’t just a wide choice of events: it actually is the result of a consistent range of conferences and events”, he pointed out. Msgr. Bode, bishop of the diocese, claimed that even the organization of the event itself “represents a special appeal for various sectors of our pastoral work, as has been the case for the preparations of the Wyd 2005”. Preparations are “crucial to the impact of these kind of events”.Slovenia: bishops meet the PopeSlovenian Bishops will be in Rome on January 21-26, 2008 for their ad limina apostolorum visit. The program envisages the audience with Benedict XVI, the pilgrimage to the sepulchre of the Apostles and the meetings in the dycasteries of the Roman Curia with the purpose of strengthening the hierarchic communion between the bishops and the Pope. Slovenia’s Bishops Conference was created in 1993. Before then, Slovenian bishops were part of Yugoslavia’s Bishops Conference. Today is consists of 11 members, of which 6 are ordinary members, 4 are auxiliary and one is the Archbishop emeritus. The last ad limina visit of the Slovenian Prelates was held on April 23-28 2001. Until April 7, 2006 the Ecclesial territory of Slovenia was shared by the dioceses of Koper and Maribor and by the archdiocese of Ljubljana. On that very day the Holy See erected three new dioceses (Celje, Murska Sobota and Novo mesto), elevating the diocese of Maribor to the status of metropolitan archdiocese. After the audience with the Pope the bishops will be visiting almost all the congregations and the Pontifical Councils. They will have the opportunity of meeting the Slovenians living in Rome to study or work. The bishops will celebrate mass service in Rome’s four major basilicas. On Saturday 26, 2008, in Saint Peter’s, the bishops and the Slovenian pilgrims will participate in the celebration officiated by Cardinal Franc Rodè, Prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Communities of Apostolic life. In the past few days in the Churches of the Country the faithful were called to pray “that the ad limina visit may prod the faith of Slovenia’s Church”.
