Church News Round-up
INDIA
RADIO MARIA INAUGURATED IN INDIA
The official inauguration of the headquarters of the Radio Maria Website in India, took place on Sunday morning, June 30 in the state of Kerala. Attending the inauguration were members of the Indian government and of the World Family of Radio Maria, in the person of Father Francisco Palacios. Hosting the event was Father Raphael Kootumghai, director of the Indian radio station. The opening of Radio Maria at Cochin is one of the eleven projects financed by the Mariathon (www.mariathon.org) solidarity drive, which was held globally from May 10-12 of this year. “We are convinced and confident that our Mother will help us,” Father Raphael said. “Thanks to the missionaries who have dedicated their life to spread the Catholic faith, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is deeply rooted among Catholic families in our country,.”
in the number of Brazilians who do not identify with religion. In 1970, the study shows, Brazil was 92% Catholic. In 2010, that figure had dropped to 65%. Protestants made up 22% of the population in 2010 (about 42 million people), up from 15% of the population in 2000 (with about 26 million people). The study did not include Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses as Protestants.
ZENIT
ASIA / SOUTH KOREA
SMALL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES” TO REVITALIZE THE PEOPLE OF GOD
One of the ways and places to revitalize and give new impetus to the faith of God’s people in Korea are the “Small Christian Communities”. For this reason the Bishops’ Conference of Korea has promoted, on the occasion of the Year of Faith, a seminar to invite priests to cultivate and develop this form of aggregation of spiritual experience, intended for lay people and families. It is a small community of lay people who promote a spirituality centered on the sharing of the Gospel and the Eucharist. As reported to Fides by the Communications office of the Episcopal Conference, the workshop was organized in recent days by the Pastoral Institute of Korea, directed by His Exc. Mgr. Peter Kang U-il, Bishop of Cheju. The Bishop, who is also the current President of the Episcopal Conference, presented the smaller communities as “concrete model for the Church in Korea,” emphasizing the fact that these can bring new life to the pastoral care of various dioceses. According to one of the participants, Fr. Bartholomew Jun Won, pastor in Seoul “to develop the Small Communities sounds like an appeal to change the paradigm of the Church in Korea, moving away from secularism and clericalism.” The Small communities, in fact, “embody a pastoral vision for the local Church, which realizes the spirit of the Second Vatican Council”, he said.
ZENIT
FRANCIS MEETS BENEDICT XVI BEFORE WYD
Pope Francis visited his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, on Friday 19 to ask for his prayers on the Pontiff’s trip to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day. Pope Francis also asked the Pontiff Emeritus to accompany “with his spiritual closeness and prayer” to the young people who are gathering for the event. A communique released by the Holy See stated that Pope Francis gave Pope Emeritus XVI a booklet of the trip, “so that he can take part spiritually”. The Holy Father also gave him a commemorative medal prepared for the trip.
ZENIT
BRAZIL
STUDY SHOWS BRAZIL’S ‘CHANGING RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE’
The Pew Research Center released an analysis in mid July titled “Brazil’s Changing Religious Landsca pe.” The report notes that Brazil still has more Catholics than any other country in the world, at an estimated 123 million. Yet, the percentage of Catholics in Brazil has been dropping steadily. The percentage of Brazilians who belong to Protestant communities has been rising, and there is also a steady increase
“Benedict XVI assured him of his prayer, recalling the intense and wonderful experiences of past world meetings with young people at Cologne, Sydney and Madrid,” the communique stated. The Pope Emeritus had announced Rio de Janeiro as the site of the 28th World Youth Day at the conclusion of WYD in Madrid. Prior to their meeting, the two Popes began “with a moment of joint prayer in the Chapel” of Benedict XVI’s residence. They then had a “cordial conversation which lasted about half an hour,” the Vatican statement reported.
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THE SEED - VOL 25, No. 8 AUGUST 2013