CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Slovakia: the Church’s proposal to the new government The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia, Mons. Stanislav Zvolenský, and its vice-president, Mons. Viliam Judák, represented the Catholic Church at yesterday’s round-table meeting with the deputies of Direction-Social Democracy, the winning political party of the March parliamentary election. According to Mons. Zvolensky, discussion focused on possibilities of various institutions to contribute to the future program of the newly appointed government. "Priority of the Catholic Church is the support of the family, protection of life and Sunday as a work-free day, as well as the establishment of new working opportunities for people", affirms the president of the Bishops’ Conference, expressing desire for equal financing of the Church institutions in the area of social, health and educational services. Representatives of Churches, employers, municipalities, science and educational institutions have 10 days to submit their priorities in written form to the team responsible for outlining the program of the new Cabinet. This step will be followed by bilateral negotiations with the aim to find mutual agreement.Scotland: "no" to "ridefining marriage" A few days ago the Archbishop of Glasgow, Msgr. Mario Conti, in a sermon delivered during the mass that marked the seventh anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, celebrated in front of representatives of Scottish civil and political life and the Papal Ambassador to Britain, warned against attempts to amend legislation to "recreate society" and "redifine natural law". Referring to the words with which in Westminster Hall Benedict XVI guarded against the risks of accepting the ideas of those who want to prevent Christianity from influencing public life, Msgr. Conti said: ” “Those voices are growing ever louder in our country, that attempted marginalisation is becoming ever more acute and we are witnessing the transformation of tolerance into a kind of tyranny in which religious views are the only ones which seem unworthy of respect and acceptance". The Archbishop of Glasgow criticised politicians "who seem ready to “redefine marriage without any reference to children, or to the natural law written on the heart of mankind putting the claim of ‘equality and diversity’ on a higher level than faith and reason. and ultimately asserting the moral equivalence between marriage and same-sex unions”. He added that "moves to legalise same-sex marriage would have "negative consequences". "The more that those in Government and the judiciary slip society’s moorings from the capstans of virtue concluded the archbishop the more our society will descend further into ethical confusion and moral disintegration".Germany: Dbk and Ekd website with timetable and celebrations Since 27th March, Internet users may find the timetables of Catholic and Evangelical celebrations in the country, all year long, at www.wegweiser-gottesdienst.de. The initiative, promoted by the German Bishops Conference (Dbk) and the German Evangelical Church (Ekd), was relayed by the German Catholic news agency Kna. Users can also search the website to find a place where to attend Mass according to special needs, such as the lack of architectural barriers or Mass in a different language. The new website is a joint project of Dbk, Ekd and the websites evangelisch.de and katholisch.de. "The Catholic and Evangelical communities all over the country enter their celebrations in a database", reads the website presentation. The website can also be searched to find such events as the Rosary, Mass for children or the Way of the Cross.Belarus: "Magnificat" festival in September The 8th edition of an International Catholic Festival of Christian documentary films and television programs "Magnificat 2012" will take place on 9 – 13 September in Minsk and Hlybokaye, Belarus. Applications for participation in the competition along with proposals can be submitted until 31 May. The event aims to present works of artists in the area of cinema and television production from Belarus and abroad. Projects should be focused on evangelization of society, support of human values and promotion of Christian traditions. Last year’s edition was opened by the secretary of the Belarus Catholic Bishops’ Conference and auxiliary bishop of the diocese Minsk-Mohilev, Mons. Antoni Demianko, who described the event as "joyous and important" and expressed opinion that "through the creative work of people engaged in the film industry we may take Christ’s teaching to modern man". For more information: www.signis.by.
