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In Scotland, Jubilee in the stadium

The most important Jubilee gathering for the Catholic Church in Scotland will not be held in a cathedral, but in the Livingston stadium, which will be the site of a great Pentecostal vigil, next June 10, 2000, with some 10,000 people from all over Scotland expected to attend. The encounter will be opened by young people and calls for moments of music and dance, that will be followed by video footage on the activity of the Catholic Church in the different parts of the world and it will conclude with a mass concelebrated by all the members of the Scottish Episcopal Conference and by priests from those dioceses. The head of the organizing committee for the event is Bishop Dunkeld Vincent Logan, who describes the meaning of this Jubilee celebration: “The theme of the day is ‘Jesus Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Forever.’ We chose this because we want to bring awareness to the rich patrimony of faith that descended upon us...and at the same time, to look ahead, to the new millennium, with all the changes that it holds in store for us, not to mention, transmitting our faith in Jesus Christ and our love for His Church to those who will come after us.”

United States: Commitment to justice

In the Apostolic Letter, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, the Holy Father defines a commitment that favors justice and peace, a “qualifying aspect for the preparation and the celebration of the Jubilee” (n. 51). For this reason, the Church of the United States wanted to begin the Holy Year by highlighting these values and by dedicating the first day of its national Jubilee calendar – that of Sunday, January 16, to the celebration of the “Jubilee for Peace and Justice.” The initiative, which was undertaken by the United States Episcopal Conference, consisted of a proposal to the faithful – presented to them during mass or during educational encounters – to sign a short document entitled “Jubilee Pledge” in which each signatory publicly declared themselves “disciple of Jesus in the new millennium” and undertook the commitment to pray regularly for more justice and peace in the world; to deepen their knowledge of Catholic social doctrine; to overcome the boundaries of racism which still divide the country; to live public and private life more honestly; to dedicate some of their spare time and some of their resources to the poor and the needy; to support policies that favor life, human dignity, the environment and peace; and to encourage our neighbors. The American bishops affirm that this “promise” can be an “opportunity for Catholics to reconfirm their commitment to serve the poor and to work for justice and peace in the new millennium...The Catholics of the United States are encouraged to consider the “promise” as a sign of their commitment to answer the call of Jesus to love their neighbor as they love themselves. But Catholics are not just called to make this promise, they are, above all, called to find ways to act upon its content, to strengthen their involvement in the service of the needy and to work for justice and peace in their country and elsewhere.” For this reason, the Church of the United States did not want to celebrate the Jubilee of Peace and Justice with “new programs” or by forming a “mandate” which could run the risk of remaining on paper only. Instead, they tried a simple but direct instrument, able to stimulate each person, each believer, and to give each diocese and community parish the utmost freedom to touch upon the themes of the “promise” on other days, with other celebrations or encounters like the “Jubilee for Justice,” which will be held in July in Los Angeles.

Molise: a pilgrimage of images

In Italy, art, history and spirituality are inter-twined in such a varied way that even such a relatively small territory can regroup a plurality of witness of faith – all worthy of being recognized, seen and valued. An example of this sort exists in Molise, one of the smaller regions – it only has four dioceses – which has one of the richest collections of religious monuments. Described in 12 lists, in color illustrations, each one corresponds to a different itinerary. Edited by Elia Rubino, the tell the stories about the cathedrals of the region, both ancient and modern, they trace the first cults in Molise and those left by the first Christian missionaries, the also show the chain of abbeys founded by the disciples of Saint Benedict and the convents build by ordinary beggars, the hermits, the sanctuaries and the churches and the many temples consecrated in Mary’s name.

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