SUMMARY:
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THE FUTURE OF EUROPE: “RELIGION-FRIENDLY” CITIES
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FIRST MEETING OF THE PASTORAL OF THE FAMILY IN CUBA
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
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THE
FUTURE OF EUROPE: “RELIGION-FRIENDLY” CITIES
Vatican
City, 16 July 2013 (VIS) – From 17 to 20 July the Austrian city of
Graz will host the international interreligious conference “Com
Unity Spirit”, organised by, among others, the Afro-Asiatic
Institute founded by the Catholic Church in 1964 with the aim of
encouraging interreligious and inter-cultural dialogue through
research projects, study meetings and international conferences. The
city has a long tradition of participation in city life by its
various religious communities, and in 1997 hosted the European
Ecumenical Assembly.
The
conference proposes a further step in the dialogue between religions,
with a view to drafting a final message in which it will indicate
what the religious communities can and should do to make cities more
welcoming and respectful towards human values, in order to promote
the co-existence of different religions and cultures, fully
respecting the freedom of every man and woman.
Over
150 representatives of religious communities will participate, from
the orthodox Serbian Bishop Andrej to the Grand Mufti emeritus of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, from the rabbi Michael
Jedwany, member of the Conference of European Rabbis, to the writer
Karl Veitschegger of the diocese of Graz-Seckau. Scholars and experts
in interreligious dialogue have been invited to take part in the
conference to discuss and share a variety of opinions not only on how
to proceed in the construction of peaceful co-existence between
religions, but also the idea that Europe is experiencing a phase of
particular importance for its future precisely because of the
presence of so many religions and cultures, which represent an
important resource for times to come.
The
programme includes a series of public conferences and parallel
sessions in which brief texts on experiences of research and dialogue
will be presented and discussed. The inaugural session will be
dedicated to the theme of the relationship between political and
spiritual power in the light of Christian experience from the time of
the first communities until the present day. The parallel sessions,
which will consider how people of different religions can live
together in the same cities in peace, will focus on the following
themes: the relationship between religion and spirituality, the
teaching of religion, religious freedom as a universal right, the
causes of potential conflict between religious communities, the
socio-political role and responsibility of religions in contemporary
society, and cultural and artistic expressions of religious
diversity.
FIRST
MEETING OF THE PASTORAL OF THE FAMILY IN CUBA
Vatican
City, 16 July 2013 (VIS) - “The family: path of hope for Cuba”
was the theme of the first national meeting of the Pastoral of the
Family promoted by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba and
recently concluded in Havana.
The
meeting, presided over by Bishop Arturo Gonzalez of Santa Clara, took
place in the “San Juan Maria Vianney” priests' residence. The
initiative was promoted also by Bishop Luis del Castillo, emeritus of
Melo, Uruguay, who has collaborated with the Church in Cuba for many
years. In his opening speech, Bishop Gonzalez recalled the words of
Blessed John Paul II during his visit to the island: “Cuba: care
for your families, in order to keep your heart pure!” and thanked
the families participating in the meeting, emphasising that in spite
of current difficulties, the family remains a source of great hope
for the future.
The
themes to be considered include: marriage and the family as God's
plan for men and women, within which humanity finds its true path to
happiness, the family in Cuba, with its needs, its values to be
identified in the light of faith but also in dialogue with the
various institutions with which it is linked, the education of
children, family economics, the aging population, the breakdown of
the family and domestic violence.
Prior
to the meeting the Commission for the Family, with the contribution
of the Jesuit priest Fr. Jorge Cela, president of the Conference of
Latin American Provincials, carried out a survey of the island's
population, entitled “Cubafamilia”, to investigate the current
situation of families in Cuba.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 16 July 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father:
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appointed Fr. Joseph Kollamparampil, C.M.I., as bishop of the eparchy
of Jagdalpur of the Syro-Malabars (area 39,176, population 3,101,730,
Catholics 8,483, priests 112, religious 451), India. The bishop-elect
was born in Cherpunkal, India in 1958 and was ordained a priest in
1985. He holds a doctorate in missiology from the Gregorian
Pontifical University, Rome, and has served in a number of pastoral
roles, including teacher and rector in a house of formation for
aspiring vocations, and rector of the CMI Mission Theologate
Samanvaya in Bhopal. He succeeds Bishop Simon Stock Palathara, whose
resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted in
accordance with canon 210 para. 1-2 of the Code of Canons of the
Eastern Churches (CCEO).
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appointed Msgr. Fernando Filograna, of the clergy of Lecce, as bishop
of Nardo-Gallipoli (area 587, population 212,980, Catholics 211,761,
priests 133, permanent deacons 7, religious 126), Italy. The
bishop-elect was born in Lequile, Italy in 1952 and was ordained a
priest in 1977. He holds a licentiate in theology from the Gregorian
Pontifical University, Rome, and has served in a number of pastoral
roles, including spiritual father of the minor seminary of Lecce,
notary of the diocesan Ecclesiastical Tribunal, vice-chancellor of
the Curia, rector of the episcopal seminary, Lecce, director of the
diocesan centre for vocations, archpriest of the parish Santa Maria
Assunta in Trepuzzi, episcopal vicar for the clergy and the permanent
diaconate, member of the College of Consultors, member of the
Commission for the Clergy and Consecrated Life for the Episcopal
Conference of Apulia, priest of the parish San Giovanni Maria Vianney
and vicar general of Lecce.
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appointed Archbishop Brian Udaigwe, previously apostolic nuncio to
Benin, as apostolic nuncio to Togo.
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