Romania: the beatification of Bishop Bogdánffy The rite for the beatification of Szilárd Bogdánffy, Auxiliary Bishop of Oradea Mare of the Latins and martyr of the Communist persecution, will be officiated by Cardinal Péter Erdö, Primate of Hungary and President of the CCEE, in the cathedral of Oradea Mare in Romania (30 October, 11.00 am). Bogdánffy died in the Romanian prison of Nagyenyed on 2 October 1953. He was born at Feketetó/Crna Bara on 21 February 1911. In 1934, after his ordination as priest, he had begun his pastoral activity in the diocese of Satu Mare (Szatmár) and Oradea of the Latins, of which he was appointed auxiliary bishop in 1948. He received his consecration clandestinely on 14 February 1949, in the apostolic nunciature of Bucharest, from the hands of Bishop Gerald Patrick O’Hara, then acting head of the Romanian nunciature. Accused of conspiracy against the State, Bogdánffy was arrested by the Communist secret police in September of the same year and transferred to various prisons of the regime in a Calvary of suffering and humiliation that lasted for four years. In early 1953 he was sentenced to 12 years hard labour by the judges of the Military Tribunal of Oradea and in August of the same year detained in the prison of Nagyenyed where he died. Suffering from pneumonia, he was refused any treatment to the bitter end. On 27 March 2010 Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree concerning his martyrdom. Portugal: “Pro-Life Vigil” in Lisbon Accepting the proposal made by Benedict XVI to bishops throughout the world, the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon, the Most Rev. José Policarpo, has called a “Diocesan Pro-Life Vigil”, which will be held in the dos Jerónimos monastery on 27 November. In a pastoral letter addressed to parishes and communities of the Patriarchate, the Cardinal expresses willingness to share the global dimension of the initiative with which the Pope himself will inaugurate the time of Advent by celebrating a “Vigil for Nascent Life” in St. Peter’s Basilica. In his pastoral letter Cardinal Policarpo criticizes “the continuous aggressions on life and its full expression that are occurring in the contemporary world”, emphasizing that “the Church instead feels herself to be at the service of life, because she is convinced that every human existence comes from God and finds full realization in Jesus Christ”. The Patriarch of Lisbon especially invited families and youth to the Vigil, in preparation for World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011, and the 6th World Day of Families due to be held in Milan in 2012. He also urges the holding of “local, parish, inter-parish and neighbourhood vigils”, which in turn could be completed by the celebrations he himself would later officiate, such as “the blessing of the newborn” on 8 December”, and “the blessing of images of the Infant Jesus”, to be placed in family cribs, on 19 December. Germany: “mission is service to persons” “Abandon an obsolete image of mission”, urged the Bishop of Regensburg, the Most Rev. Gerhard Ludwig Müller on the occasion of World Day of Missions. “In the past, the missionary task of Christ was burdened with a colonialist faith in progress”, creating in Europeans a sense of “cultural, technological and economic superiority over other peoples. This eurocentric vision is no longer relevant”, said Müller. “Mission is not domination over persons, but service to persons”, he emphasized, explaining that “material aid is not aimed at imposing new visions of the world on those who believe in other religions”: rather “it is the expression of God’s love for everyone”. Belgium: All Saints, period of “silence” On the vigil of the feast of All Saints, the Belgian Bishops’ Conference has published an editorial of Father Charles Delhez, Jesuit, editor of the Catholic weekly “Dimanche”, with the title “It’s time for silence”. “The Church – writes Father Delhez – is profoundly shaken in our country. There is no doubt that she is not in a state of terminal coma, but a long period of recovery awaits her. Should she not therefore return to the hidden life of Jesus of Nazareth? For an excess of words in the end kills the message. Charles de Foucauld understood this very well by choosing to live in the Algerian desert, in silence. The monks of Tibhirine, whose spiritual adventure is recounted in the film “Men and Gods”, have lived in the same condition. In Belgium, ought we not to do likewise?”. “The time has come to remain in silence and to live according to the Gospel. We need to promote the ‘rebirth of the Church’ which is born from the breath of the Spirit, in mutual trust between Pastors and faithful, each according to his or her responsibilities”.
