chURCHES IN BRIEF
France: Msgr. Simon on secularism and Islam”The Church of France or the Church in France?”. These are the opening lines of the contribution by Msgr. Hippolyte Simon, archbishop of Clermont, vice-president of the French Bishops’ Conference, published on the Catholic daily La Croix on March 14 regarding the debate on secularism and the relationship between State and religion announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In his reflection, published also on the website of the French Bishops www.eglise.catholique.fr, Msgr. Simon recalls a question that has stirred French public opinion over the past weeks, namely “It is necessary to develop ‘French Islam’ and reject ‘Islam in France'”. Whilst underlining that the issue “is outside” his “jurisdiction” the prelate says the question should be asked from a Catholic angle: “Are we part of the ‘Church of France’ or of the ‘Church in France’?'” Msgr. Simon points out that beyond the national identities, “for Catholics there are no national Churches, there exists one and only Catholic Church, present worldwide, in the diversity of her dioceses”. As relates to the “difficulties” encountered by the Muslim faith, Msgr. Simon points out that they are related “to the lack of official religious representatives for relations with the State”. However, the prelate remarks, “only Muslims in France know what is best for them, within the institutional framework of laicite provided for by the French Republic”. Indeed “even fifteen years later, Cardinal Lustiger’s words bear special topical relevance, given the ongoing situation in South Mediterranean Countries: ‘It is not the job of the French government to set up a French-flavored Islam. There is no other alternative but to enforce the law of the Republic in a wise and gentle way, and to wait for some thirty years or two generations, until Muslims with French citizenship will regard themselves and be regarded as French people of the Islamic faith'”.Belgium: Msgr. Harpigny on LentFor Christians, Lent “is a time to renew baptismal vows and a time of conversion for the sinners”. For the catechumen “it’s the last line that needs to be crossed upon receiving the sacraments on Easter eve”. In the celebration of Ash Wednesday Mass, the Archbishop of Tournai Msgr. Guy Harpigny, recalled the meaning of Lent and underlined its three dimensions: charity, fasting and prayer. “Charity – he said – can be understood as a form of participation in collections organized by Entraide et Fraternité, which this year will go to projects in the Philippines. There will be special moments of prayer like the Liturgy of the Hours”. Finally, “it must be experienced as a change in our habits, aimed at recovering the fundamentals”. These dimensions, the Archbishop explained, “must be lived within our secret selves, which only God sees”. This year 38 catechumens will enter the Church on Easter eve.Ukraine: praying for those who left the ChurchThe Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, bishop Ihor Vozniak, invited those who left the Church to pray during the Lenten period. In a message read across the Country’s Greek-Catholic churches on Sunday March 13, the bishop asked the faithful “to pray for the conversion of all those, who for different reasons are outside the Church’s redeeming grounds”. In the document, drawn up in preparation for the beatification of John Paul II next May 1st, the UGCC administrator affirmed: “Our joy is not yet fulfilled since today Christ’s Church in our Country is suffering”. This pain “is caused by the appearance of a new sects in our country, the Dognal Group”, that do their utmost “to contaminate the sacred memory of Pope John Paul II”. Bishop Vozniak denounces “slanderous statements” and “disturbed allegations” against the image of a man who did so much good to the ecumenical Church and to our own Church”, whose figure “is close to the Ukrainian population, including non-Catholics”. “John Paul II – continues the bishop – placed major effort to obtain freedom from the USSR for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. The Pope showed a special respect for our martyr Church, as shown” by the triumphal “beatification of the new Ukrainian martyrs during his pastoral visit to our Country. His love for our Church was so great that he, supreme Head of the Church of Christ, was not afraid to support” the faithfulness of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics to their Church at the end of the 1980s. As regards the visit of John Paul II to Ukraine in June 2001, the UGCC administrator concluded: “This Holy Father of our times, when the Gospel came alive, has given a strong testimony of faith through his words and actions”.
