Ireland: Catholic schools weekFrom January 31 to February 6 the Catholic Church of Ireland celebrates “Catholic Schools Week”. “It gives us the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the tremendous contribution that our Catholic primary and post-primary schools make not just to Irish society, but to the mission of the Church”, the bishops wrote in a message posted on the website of the Catholic Church (www.catholicbishops.ie). “Last year marked a very successful beginning of an all-Ireland celebration of Catholic Schools Week and we hope this year to build on that foundation and continue to create a space where we can proudly articulate and celebrate our ethos and identity”. This year the theme for the week is ‘Catholic Schools – A Light for Every Generation’. “Catholic schools are committed to the education and formation of the young person in every aspect of their lives” is stated on the website of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, “Thus Catholic schools are light for parents, pupils, staff and society in every generation. In selecting this theme we are clearly connecting the vision of Catholic education with the mission of the Gospel”. The website also provides a resource pack in English, Gaelic and Polish addressed to parents, staff members, members of boards of management, and the parish community to celebrate Catholic Schools Week with new ideas and initiatives for primary and post-primary schools. The Netherlands: youth charity evening for HaitiOn Saturday January 23 an initiative, both virtual and real, led to collect 6.500 euro during a charity evening organised by youth Dutch Catholics for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The evening was opened by a Eucharistic celebration officiated by Cardinal Simonis in St. Catherine’s Church in den Bosch, and continued with music, dance, performances and a charity auction with online contributions. The involvement of social networks like Twitter, Facebook e Hyves made on-line donations possible. Information on relief for Haiti is also posted on the webpage of Dutch Catholic youth at www.jongkatholiek.nl/haiti. The evening’s proceeds will go to the organization for development WerelOuders, that has been actively working in Haiti for the past 20 years and which is coordinated by American priest and doctor Rick Frechette, who visited The Netherlands in December and asked Catholic youth to help his organization. Father Rick currently runs one of the few working hospitals and his appeal regards all primary medication such as bends, morphine and sacs for the corpses. The collected sum will be used for the purchase of medicine, clothes, blankets, flour, and other basic supplies. Following the appeal of the Dutch bishops, 50 thousand euros were given by the bishop of Rotterdam Msgr. van Luyn and by the bishop of Stockholm Msgr. Arborelius. Croatia: the sudden death of the archbishop of ZadarMsgr. Ivan Prendja, the archbishop of Zadar, died suddenly at the age of 70 on January 25. Msgr. Prendja died in Zagreb where he was visiting Cardinal Josip Bozanic who gave the alarm when he noted that Msgr. Prendja had not attended the Mass celebration. According to Croatian media, the archbishop of Zadar was not suffering from any kind of severe illness. It is assumed he died from a heart attack or a stroke. Msgr. Prendja was ordained to the priesthood in June 1964 in the Zadar archdiocese. He became archbishop of Zadar in February 1996. He had occupied several posts at the Croatian Bishops’ Conference where he served as President of the Bishops’ Conference for the Clergy and member of the mixed Commission of Croatian Bishops and heads of religious orders and of the Union of Mother Superiors. He had also served as youth catechist and from 1981 to 1990 he corresponded for the Catholic weekly Glas Koncila. On January 25 Cardinal Bozanic and the apostolic nuncio in Croatia, archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari celebrated a suffrage Mass for Msgr. Prendja to the presence of a large number of bishops and of over thirty priests. At the end of the rite, his body was brought to Zadar, where his funeral is scheduled for January in Saint Anastasia’s Cathedral.
