Ccee, Italy, Ukraine

Ccee: meeting of general secretaries and spokesmenFor the first time together, General Secretaries and spokesman of the European Bishops Conferences to “discuss communication of the Church”. The “new” evangelisation in Europe will be the focus of two consecutive meetings promoted by Ccee (Council of European Bishops Conferences): the meeting of the General Secretaries, which is taking place in Vilnius from 16th to 19th June, and the meeting of the media officers and spokespersons of the Bishops Conferences, which will take place, also in the Lithuanian capital, from 18th to 21st June. The one-week meeting of Ccee – as stated in a release published by the European organisation today – has been opened by the General Secretaries who on Thursday received by card. Audrys Juozas Backis, archbishop of Vilnius. The secretaries will focus their attention on some specific aspects of the new evangelisation, such as the relationship between culture and quality of faith; “spiritual life and belonging to the Church today in the midst of quick rhythms of life and stress”. Some initiatives involving the Bishops Conferences will be presented: World Youth Day (Madrid, Spain, 16-21 August 2011); World Meeting of Families (Milan, Italy, 29 May – 3 June 2012); International Eucharistic Congress (Dublin, Ireland, 10-17 June 2012). On Saturday 18 June, the Media Officers and Spokespersons from the Bishops’ Conferences will arrive in Vilnius for an afternoon working session with the Secretaries (the final session of their own meeting) about the organisation of communication in the Bishops’ Conferences “in order to carry out – the Ccee release goes on – in the best way possible their mission of proclaiming the Gospel even in difficult situations”. On the Saturday evening, there will be a presentation of the first version of EuroCathInfo – the institutional information Portal of the Bishops’ Conferences in Europe – and the European Intranet which will be on-line in the course of 2011. During their meeting, the Spokespersons “will focus on the theme of the new evangelisation starting from the experiences already existing in the European continent which witness to the “newness” inherent in the Church, especially in the area of voluntary work, enterprises and new media”.Italy: message for the creation”In a hospitable land, let’s teach hospitality”. This is at the heart of the Message written by the Italian Bishops for the 6th Day for the protection of Creation, due to be celebrated on September 1st. The message – drawn up by the Bishops Commission for social problems and employment, justice and peace, and by the Bishops Commission for ecumenism and dialogue – has added, this year, the protection of the environment and human solidarity. “By taking the whole of Creation as God’s free gift and acting in it in the style of gratuitousness – the message states -, man becomes himself a true space of hospitality: at last, suited and able to receive any other human being as a brother, because God’s love, exhaled by the Spirit into his heart, makes him capable of love and forgiveness, of sacrificing himself, “of welcoming his neighbours, of justice and peace”. “Hospitality becomes the real measure of human development”. Another issue is “environmental refugees”. A figure is given as well: “We would not be far from the truth if we imagined that, by the first half of this century, the number of environmental refugees might reach two hundred million”. The bishops ask to “teach hospitality”, which means “cultivating an attitude of gratefulness to God for the gift of Creation” and “becoming genuine witnesses of gratuitousness and service to every human being”.Ukraine: Sviatoslav at the Seminary in Kyiv”I want to believe that here at the seminary begins ecclesial and national revival of Ukraine”, said the Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, at the occasion of conclusion of the academic year at the Three Holy Hierarchs Spiritual Seminyary in Kyiv in recent days. The festivity began with matins, followed by the rite of consecration of cassocks for the seminarians who have completed the first year of studies. Pontifical divine liturgy was presided by the head of the UGCC and concelebrated by His Excellency Josyf Milian, auxiliary bishop of Kyiv Archeparchy, in presence of seminarians, their families and guests. His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked God for the first historical year of the Seminary in Kyiv. Recalling the Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea, the major archbishop noted that “the main purpose of the seminary is to hand on to the seminarians the deposit of the apostolic faith and enable them to witness to the world that God is One in three Persons”. At the end of the liturgy the head of the UGCC addressed the parents and praised them for not having been afraid to offer their sons for God’s service.