Germany, France, Portugal

Germany: a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict An "equal and peaceful solution" is the proposal of Msgr. Heinrich Mussinghoff, bishop of Aachen, for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the occasion of a seminar held in Berlin, Msgr. Mussinghoff, in his capacities as president of the Sub-Commission of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) for Religious Relations with Judaism, claimed that for the Catholic Church "the right to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state is not being questioned". This entails also "the right to safe borders recognized at international level and the end of terrorist attacks". However, even the Palestinian people have the right to their own independent state, economically self-sufficient", he remarked, calling for a two-State solution, as proposed by the Synod for the Middle-East held in Rome in 2010. Msgr. Mussinghoff also called for "free access to the holy places of Israel and of the Palestinian areas, along with the guarantee of religious freedom for the entire region", that include "freedom of religious expression for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike". "This entails that also in the social and political realms there should be no discrimination on religious grounds", the bishop pointed out. France: 2012 dedicated to consecrated life In the year 2012 the Church in France will devote special attention to consecrated life with the objective of promoting new vocations, notably among the young. In the coming months, the Conférence des religieux et religieuses de France (CORREF) and the Service national catholique pour l’Evangélisation des jeunes et les vocations in conjunction with the Service des moniales (Sdm) and al Conseil national des instituts séculiers de France (Cnisf), will organize events, and jointly release handbooks and informative tools. In France, "consecrated life is enriched by the presence of 40 thousand religious men and women, monks and nuns, members of secular institutions, consecrated from the new communities, as well as consecrated virgins, widows and widowers, and hermits", states a release published on www.eglisecatholique.fr. Indeed, continues the statement, "it constitutes an important part of the Church". It encompasses all those who in different ways, for the love of God and of the world, undertake a human and spiritual adventure of total life-bestowal to Christ and to others". For sister Catherine Fino (Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy), religious life can be a "workshop of ideas", to the service of modern society", while sister Lucie Licheri (Little Sisters of the Assumption) believe that it should "become a part of global enculturation". The first event is « Brother & Sister Act », scheduled to take place in Paris on January 27-29, with the national meeting of young religious men and women of France, that will also be the occasion for a flashmob. The calendar of initiatives includes, inter alia, the World Day of Vocations (April 29), the live broadcast of the Mass with young religious in Paris, and the meeting "Religious life: why?" (May 17-20), addressed to young people and adults alike. Portugal: illness as a dialogue opportunity "Hospitals", where situations of suffering are the norm, "are areas of fragility and conversion, where ecumenical dialogue can become a part of the treatment or help a death reconciled with life". "Belonging to different religious confessions should not be an obstacle to the possibility of being together, in the discovery that illness prompts communion", said Fr José Cruz, hospital chaplain, in an interview for the review Ecclesia, on the occasion of "The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity". The theme of the octave, ongoing until January 25, is drawn from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians "We shall be transformed because of the victory of Christ Jesus, our Lord". For the spiritual counselor of the hospital of the Capucines and of the Cuf Descobertas in Lisbon, "Christians’ separation is due to the inability to accept diversity. Instead, we have to seek the truth, and understand that the greatest gift is love, that makes us available to everyone, respecting the space of other religions and the different ways of operating of their ministers". The priest said that "a different faith can be practiced while also undertaking joint efforts in many different areas", mentioning as an example that he learned to recite the Hail Mary prayer at the end of the Mass in France, from brother Roger, the Protestant pastor founder of Taizé ecumenical community. By including in his appeal also those who have no religious belonging, and yet try to "give a meaning to their lives", father Cruz recalled that the Prayer for Christian Unity should be an ongoing concern: "not only a week: every day we undertake this fruitful joint path of communion".