CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Turkey: hope for seminary of HalkiOn the occasion of the Nuclear Security Summit that took place in Seoul, the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, met the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, who announced him that the Theological Faculty of Halki will reopen. The news, relayed by the Greek news agency Romfea.gr, has been posted today by lots of websites of the Orthodox Patriarchates. According to Romfea.gr, President Obama congratulated Prime Minister Erdogan "on the efforts made in Turkey to defend religious minorities", adding that he is personally happy about the reopening of the faculty of Halki. Then, the news was confirmed by the Greek agency amen.gr. Last Friday, the Greek Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I met George Papandreou, former Greek Prime Minister and current president of the Socialist International, to whom the Patriarch said that "the few remaining legal obstacles to the reopening of Halki will be solved by the revision of the Constitution, which should be finished by the end of this year", so hopefully the school might reopen by early 2013. The seminary of Halki was closed down by the Turkish authorities in 1971, following a ruling of the Constitutional Court that voided some paragraphs of Act 625 about private teaching systems. The institution was founded in the early XIX century to train religious staff and provide an ecumenical theological education. The theological school of Halki played a key role in the education of the highest ranks of the Orthodox clergy: in over 130 years of work, as many as twelve prelates from the seminary were eventually appointed Patriarchs; even Bartholomew I studied at the theological school of Halki. Over the last few years, the Patriarchate has worked hard to reopen the school, putting pressure on the international community, especially the president of the United States of America (whom the Patriarch met in 2009), and on the European Union.England: anglicans and catholics in dialogueEvangelization in the context of an increasingly secular society is the "key theme" to be discussed by the members of the Anglican-Catholic Committee in England (English ARC) for the next five years. The Committee – newly configured and chaired by the Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, Mgr. Bernard Longley, and the Anglican Bishop of Truro, Revd Tim Thornton – met at Canterbury Cathedral from 23 to 24 March to decide the agenda of work. The topics chosen include a reflection on how "our two churches can bear joint witness in the area of public affairs", particularly "on issues such as the common good as well as other social and ethical questions". Furthermore, English ARC will inform "members of both churches about ecumenical progress already made over the last fifty years, emphasising what our churches have in common". To encourage spiritual ecumenism, the churches will promote "joint prayer and worship (liturgies of the word)". The Committee will report to the joint meetings of English Anglican and Catholic bishops, which happen every two years. At the end of its five-year programme, it will produce a report for both churches on the work it has undertaken.Slovenia: "irreplaceable role" of the family"We welcome the decision of the voters who voted against the new family law. We thank all those people who personally strove to achieve such goal and helped voters acknowledge the irreplaceable role that family plays in our life". This is how mgr. Anton Stres, metropolitan archbishop of Ljubljana and president of the Slovenian Bishops Conference (Ces), commented the outcome of the family law referendum that took place in Slovenia on March 25th. The citizens were called to the polls to vote for or against the introduction of the new family law, passed by the Slovenian Parliament on July 16th, 2011. One of the new things introduced by the new law was marriage and adoption by gay couples. The referendum was promoted by a Catholic-inspired civil movement for the protection of children’s and family rights. The law was defeated by a 55% majority. According to mgr. Stres, "the outcome of the referendum does not make family rights safe yet", because "they must be experienced daily, in interpersonal relations": "So, the family, in which children may grow with the help of their mother’s and father’s education, remains our alliance, and we will keep fighting for this".
