Belgium, Portugal, Austria

Belgium: Church ready to compensate victims of abuseThe Belgian Church is ready to participate in the arbitration procedure proposed by the parliamentary Commission to which the victims of sexual abuse can appeal also to obtain financial compensation, says a communiqué put out by the Belgian Bishops’ Conference, the bishops and superiors major of Belgium. The bishops express their “appreciation” for the findings presented by the group of experts to the members of the Committee of surveillance on the treatment of sexual abuses and paedophile acts within the Church. The group of experts – says a press release of the Bishops’ Conference – has drawn up an arbitration procedure to which the victims can appeal for redress. It’s “a procedure instituted within a neutral body, outside the structures of the Church”. The Church – continue the bishops – is “ready to participate in this type of arbitration”, hoping in this way to “contribute, also in cases of incidents that are prescribed under the law, to the recognition, and healing of the sufferings caused to the victims of abuses. By this approach the Church wishes to satisfy what society expects of her”. The communiqué also announces that in recent months the bishops and superiors major have worked on drafting a comprehensive document on the treatment and prevention of sexual abuses in the Church in which such aspects of the question are tackled as an analysis of the factors that may lead to sexual abuse; the recovery of victims; the Church’s collaboration in the reconciliation or arbitration procedure; the responsibility of and approach to the perpetrators of sexual abuses; and prevention measures.Portugal: CEP, “greater guarantee for work”Meeting at Fatima in recent days, the permanent Council of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) focused on the problem of unemployment and has called for “a greater guarantee for work”, convinced as it is that the country must mobilize itself to respond to this priority need. In the pastoral document “Crisis, recognition and commitment”, the bishops write that “the role of work must be considered fundamental, because it forms the indispensable basis for survival and human dignity: measures must therefore be taken to guarantee it. This requires greater creativity and active solidarity, so that this right can be extended to everyone”. In October, the unemployment rate in Portugal estimated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) rose to 12.9% (the fourth highest among its 34 member countries). The reflection of the permanent Council focuses particular attention on “insufficient, poorly shared and socially unequal economic growth”, indicating, as key points for the definition and evaluation of specific political provisions, the four basic principles of the Doctrine of the Church: “dignity of the person, common good, subsidiarity and solidarity”. The bishops point out in particular “the importance of family support and of the private institutions of social solidarity)”, in an economic downturn that is very difficult for the country, and “especially for those who have lost their jobs and therefore the minimum conditions sufficient to guarantee their own dignity and that of their loved ones”. In conclusion, the document, in view of the forthcoming celebration of Christmas, asks that “the spirit of brotherhood be manifested in concrete assistance for persons in difficulty or in aid to charitable institutions”. It also expresses the hope that “everything that in this period is presented as idolatry of profit, ostentation and consumerism be transformed into a sober lifestyle, in which sharing may become the rule, and not a mere exception reserved for a few generous individuals”.Austria: the Light of Bethlehem comes to ViennaSolidarity with future generations: that is what was called for by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, President of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference, during his meeting with the scouts who last weekend brought to Vienna the “Light of Peace from Bethlehem” to distribute it to all the Christian countries in the world. The Cardinal emphasized the need to demonstrate solidarity with the new generations, also in view of the excessive indebtedness and irresponsible consumption of resources in our time. To the scouts present at the meeting the Cardinal also pointed out the need to show solidarity with “those who are able to know only a little of the light that was donated to us through Christ. Precisely in the darkest period of the year, the light of Bethlehem must bring us the neighbourliness and warmth that we often seem on the point of losing today”, he added. “At the same time, we need to use the world’s resources in a more considerate fashion and think of the following generations; for it is they who will have, in future, to pay the price of what is often so recklessly squandered today”. The scouts were received by the Cardinal at the end of an ecumenical service celebrated in Vienna to mark the arrival of the Light of Peace from Bethlehem.