CCEE: the Congress of the European Vocations Service “A time for thought on the role of the Word of God for the life of priests and their ministry. A word which often represents a personal encounter with God, he source of all vocations, but also the object of priestly ministry”. This is the purpose of the yearly meeting of the EVS – European Vocation Service – representing those responsible for vocations in 34 Bishops’ Conference of Europe (www.vocations.eu), scheduled in Rome July 2-5 on the theme “Disseminators of the Gospel of Vocations”, on the occasion of the opening of the Year of Priesthood. The organisation of the meeting has been coordinated by the Auxiliary Archbishop of Gniezno (Poland), Mgr Wojciech Polach, EVS President and CCEE delegate Bishop delegated for vocations, as well as by the current coordinator Fr Jean-Pierre Leroy, in charge of the Office for Vocations in the Belgian Bishops´ Conference. “The recent Synod on the Word and testimony of the Apostle Paul reminds us of the importance of the word of God in any process of Christian vocation”, Msgr. Polak explained. On July 4 delegates will attend a private audience with the pope. Attendees include Cardinal Zeno Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, and Msgr. Mariano Crociata, Secretary General of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. Germany: the Pauline Year and Christians in Turkey The Pauline Year has made Christians in Turkey even stronger. This was the assessment of the German charity organisation “Kirche in Not” made by Fr. Hermann Josef Hubka, spiritual assistant of the organization, in Munich, on June 25. “Interest towards the Apostle ought to continue especially now, in the Year of Priesthood”, Hubka said upon his return from a pilgrimage in Turkey. Fr. Hubka deplores that “every year millions of German tourists visit Turkey, but only few people seek the contact with the Christian communities still present in the Country”. In conjunction with the Catholic charity platform “kath.net”, he organized a pilgrimage that envisaged daily Masses celebrated in Churches across Turkey. For many years “Kirche in Not” has been actively committed in a number of projects aimed at supporting the local Catholic Church. Along with a Bible for children in Turkish, Aramaic, Arabic and Armenian, it provided for the publication of a compact Catholic catechism in Turkish. Hubka highlighted the role played by religion in the diffusion of Christianity and recalled that “Turkey is also a Biblical Country and a Holy Land of the early Church”. As relates to the current situation of Christians living in Turkey, Hubka declared, “there are many signs testifying to the fact that Christians living in Turkey do not enjoy full religious freedom. However there are also positive signs, like the fact that “the Turkish Airlines’ onboard magazine reports the addresses and phone numbers of Churches in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir”. There’s also “a new map of the city of Istanbul, available in hotels with information regarding twenty-four churches across Istanbul and in the Princes’ Islands”, he remarked. Austria: major missionary initiative in ViennaCardinal Christoph Schönborn, President of the Bishops’ Conference and archbishop of Vienna called for “more transparent and determined policies” in the realm of “immigration and integration”. The Cardinal spoke on the occasion of the traditional reception for the media, held a few days in the archbishopric of the capital city. His Eminence declared, “Catholic foreign communities in Vienna can act as role models and as new cells for the Church and society as a whole”. “Approximately one third of non-German speaking Catholics are involved also in their own communities of origin and thus constitute a living bridge for integration”. On the occasion, His Eminence announced the archdiocese’ major missionary initiative, due to take place in 2010. “In a time of vigorous transformations within Church and societies, this project is aimed at recovering the importance of the Church’s missionary trait and continuing the account of the Apostles here and now”, in contemporary society, where “the faithful are seeking the answers” of the meaning of life whilst “combative atheism reaches the point of conducting advertising campaigns”. The next stage of the project is the first diocesan meeting scheduled for October 22-24 in Vienna, which will be attended by some 1000 diocesan delegates from parish churches, religious orders and ecclesial bodies.
