Portugal: for “a social pact of justice” The Portuguese Church proposed “a social pact of justice and popular support, aimed at resolving the Country’s tragic economic situation”. This determination emerged at the end of an extra-ordinary reunion of the Advisory Board of Social Pastoral Care held in Lisbon, [of which are part, among other Catholic associations, also Caritas, the Commission for Justice and Peace and the Secretariat of the Union of the Charities]. The president of the Episcopal Commission for social pastoral care, Msgr. Carlos Azevedo invited all social and political authorities “to reach an agreement on fiscal matters, public spending, social services, minimum wage and economic emergency aids”. “The crisis is so serious that we won’t overcome it one against the other: entrepreneurs against trade unions, opposition against the government. There must be a common determination to react overcoming divisions and coordinating strategies that will question the current financial, commercial, cultural and political structures” – added Lisbon’s auxiliary bishop: “Taking firm stands against interest groups will only cause the victims of the crisis to increase, with the possibility that unemployment and material indigence may determine violence and social upheavals”. Msgr. Azevedo highlighted the difficult and dangerous context and added, “the Church can no longer avoid the political consideration of human problems and their solution: to promote social and structural initiatives in a prospect of evangelisation obliges the social Christian movement to reconsider its task and grant political meaning to moral discourse”. “I therefore call for the determined investment in the production of truly useful goods and an ongoing commitment in social justice expressed in homilies and catechesis, so that Catholics may develop a more critical approach towards their own democracy and social institutions” – concluded Lisbon’s auxiliary bishop.Spain: 10 thousand disabled at the WYD of Madrid 2011Over 10 thousand young disabled are expected to take part in the forthcoming World Youth Day due to take place in Madrid August 16 to 21 2011. For them a few days ago the Organizing Committee ratified an agreement with the Alares Foundation tasked with training volunteers that will assist them. The president of the foundation Javier Benavente, said the agreement “constitutes an assignment with the highest responsibility ever received by the Foundation and therefore it is a very significant endeavour”. Alares is engaged in the formation and integration of the disabled in the working environment. The agreement with the Organizing Committee envisages several formation stages: an overview for all volunteers along with targeted formation for the volunteers and coordinators who will assist the disabled. During the WYD the Alares foundation will activate a hotline which is available twenty-four hours a day providing solutions to problems or request as relates to assistance. The Spanish WYD Committee is making all efforts to provide the young disabled with the best conditions for transport, accommodation and reserved areas in the great events that are being scheduled. Germany: constructive dialogue with the Lutherans The President of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) Msgr. Robert Zollitsch, congratulated the new president of the World Lutheran Federation bishop Munib Younan, elected in Stuttgart on July 24 during the plenary meeting of the federation. In a letter sent for the occasion, Msgr. Zolltisch said he wishes that the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Federation “is continued constructively also in the future”. The Catholic bishop recalled the Common Declaration on the doctrine of justification as “an important step” in the relations between the Churches. “It is an encouragement and a commitment to continue along this road”, added Msgr. Zollitsch, who underlined that DBK’s Commission for Ecumenism and its president Msgr. Gerhard Ludwig Müller, are “reliable interlocutors for the World Lutheran Federation and its member Churches in Germany”. Finally, the president of the German Catholic Church called for God’s blessing for Msgr. Younan, “also and especially” for his activity as Evangelical-Lutheran bishop for Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land and in Jordan.
