” “”As a Church, we want to give our contribution, so that the slogan of the World Football Championship, “The world hosted by friends”, will become a reality and that in this big event hospitality will be a success”. So, “open churches, guided tours for the incoming fans and a long list of cultural and religious events at all the local churches”. This is how card. Karl Lehmann, president of the German bishops, explained the work the Catholic Church of the country “is going to carry out” in the run-up to the next World Football Championship that will take place (9 June 9 July) in twelve cities (Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hanover, Kaiserslautern, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart). “Hospitality said the cardinal, during the bishops’ meeting which was held in Berlin in the last few days implies that the Churches must be more and more open than usual. The Catholic Church will be involved in the cultural programme of the cities”, highlighted the cardinal, who expressly mentioned “the contribution of the non-German-speaking Catholic communities”. Card. Lehmann also specified that “the Sunday rest and the holidays must still be respected”, because “hospitality does not mean that the shops must be kept open for longer”. On the occasion of the opening match of June 9th, an ecumenical celebration will be held in the Cathedral of Munich.
