Italy: the Christian proposal to the young”The Christian proposal is not an illusory caress, a sentimental message, indulgently understanding, almost an accomplice of so many complacent weaknesses. It is a demanding proposal, not by compulsion or duty, but by the force of love that burns from inside: it is the radical nature of the Christian gospel”, said the General Secretary of the Italian Bishops, Mgr. Mariano Crociata in his keynote address opening the 11th National Conference of Youth Ministry in which 500 delegates are participating, including regional delegates of youth pastoral service, representatives of the dioceses and religious congregations. The Conference has as its theme “Not to be served but to serve. The diocese, the parish and youth”. “One has the impression – said Mgr. Crociata – of living in an age of lukewarmness, where everything, it seems, is devoid of strength, spiritually decadent. This is opposed by a certain fundamentalism, even within the Church, which believes it can fill this void of truth with fanaticism”. To avoid this pitfall, Mgr. Crociata reaffirmed “the value of the Christian proposal which is not a vacuous accompaniment but a demanding, salutary and inspiring proposal, capable of pointing to strong objectives and wide horizons”. The spiritual drama of youth today, added the bishop, “is that of great passions quenched below trivial and fatuous fires. We need, therefore, to revive the fire of Jesus, the fire that consumes evil through self-oblation. Jesus is no fanatic or zealot, but a fire that renews humanity”. Nonetheless, warned Mgr. Crociata, addressing those present, “we must, we educators first and foremost, live according to grace. If we are incapable of this, our words will be vain, useless”.France: priests of Lyons, paying one monthly salary to the poorThe presbyteral council of the diocese of Lyons – driven by the financial crisis that has affected so many households – passed a proposal that “invites all the priests of the diocese, who can and want to do it, to pay one month of their salary to a charitable organisation in support of the victims of the crisis”. The proposed amount is at least 900 Euros, but “each one may give what they want or what they can”. In a release issued by the diocese (on October 21), the Council explains that it does not want to advertise this initiative too much, but they do not even want to keep silent about “this gesture of solidarity and sharing that may encourage others”. “We know – the proposal reads – that many priests, alone and discreetly, already contribute to funding charitable organisations and, despite their modest salaries, support diocesan works and many associations. But, at this time of economic crisis that is particularly painful for so many families, especially those affected by unemployment, we want to express our solidarity through a special financial commitment”. The proposal had been put forward by a young priest of the diocese, inspired by a similar initiative promoted by the priests of a Spanish diocese”.Spain: information on the funds of the ChurchThe Spanish Bishops’ Conference is launching a new publicity campaign on TV and radio, beginning on 22 October and ending on 14 November. For the third consecutive year, the “XTANTOS” campaign is aimed at raising public awareness about the work of the Catholic Church and how it is using the funds obtained from citizens’ subscription on their income tax returns. The Bishops’ Conference also aims to increase – as a press release explains – the number of citizens who give their support to the Catholic Church by placing a cross in the relevant box on their income tax return. The new campaign entails the broadcasting on television of advertising spots of 30 or 20 seconds. From 26 October to 22 November the campaign will also be run on the internet. This year the “XTANTOS” campaign has received the prestigious “EFI” prize for effective publicity in the category of social responsibility, awarded by the Spanish Association of Advertisers. Since 2008 the support of the Church in Spain has depended exclusively on the choice of Catholics and those who recognize the work performed by the Church. Those who put a cross in the box of the Catholic Church on their tax return automatically allocate 0.7% of their taxable income to the Church, without additional cost for the taxpayer. Almost 500,000 more Spanish taxpayers chose to allocate 0.7% of their taxable income to the Catholic Church in 2008 than in 2007. Altogether 6,958,012 taxpayers signed for the “asignación tributaria” in favour of the Catholic Church, equivalent to 34.38% of the total (compared with 33.45% in the previous year). It is estimated that the number of taxpayers who signed in favour of the Catholic Church in the spring of 2008 exceeded 8,500,000. A total of 241.3 million euros thus flowed into the coffers of the Catholic Church, in comparison with 173.8 million in the previous year.
