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THE JUBILEE IN THE WORLD

ANGOLA

"The Holy Spirit and the holiness of life"

These are days of hope and rebirth in Angola: the Christian community looks to the new millennium as it lives its first year of peace and reconstruction after twenty years of civil war. The pastoral action of '97 was launched in February with a Note by the archbishop of Luanda, Cardinal Alexandre do Nascimento, focused on the figure of Jesus Christ and on the need to intensify the work of catechesis already underway. Referring to some passages of Tertio Millennio Adveniente on the phenomenon of religious indifference, the Pastoral Note invites to look with hope to the example of the martyrs and those persecuted for their faith in Christ. Strong is also the invitation to pray for the intercession of the Mother of God. In fact Angola, in November renews its consecration to the Virgin Mary, on occasion of the plenary assembly of bishops, at the end of a period of reflection and study of marian themes. But the spiritual energies of the country are totally directed since last year in a capillary work of biblical catechesis and on the person of Jesus Christ, «Saviour from violence» and from sin, «Saviour through the Grace of pardon... in love». The «Month of the Bible», in September, culminated in an important national celebration that involved every diocese on the day devoted to St. Jerome, the last Sunday of the month. The fruits of the first year of the «Movement of biblical catechesis», launched in October '96, are evident across the country, where almost every parish and mission organises biblical courses. Now, in the archdiocese of Luanda, there is solid interaction between the Biblical courses of doctrinal information and Biblical circles, for meditation and dialogue.

In addition, every two weeks numerous lay people attend the lessons held in the Biblical School, in its first year of activity: the courses, that until now have dealt mainly with themes of theological and historical-geographical introduction to the Sacred Scripture, will presumably have a 3-4 year duration, and have already stretched to other dioceses, also under the form of intensive weeks of formation. Other initiatives have livened the year in progress. In particular, from last February, the National Assembly of the Pastoral for Youth, focused all its activities on the Person of Jesus Christ in relation to the life of young people. The Institute of Salesian Youth also moved in the same direction and is preparing for the first months of '98 an important celebration on Jesus. Like every October, from 1995, the bishops of Angola have proclaimed a Pastoral Week on the pre-jubilee theme of the following year: for 1998, the Holy Spirit and the holiness of life. Particular attention will be directed at the means of social communication. From 1996 efforts in this sense have been numerous, seeing the need to not only inform the population, but also the very journalists, the majority of whom were trained in Cuba during the years of the Marxist government, and therefore often completely ignorant of Christian culture. The distribution of brochures explaining the terms used by the Church and the fundamental principles that inspire its action was only a first step, which was followed by the re-inauguration of the broadcaster Radio Ecclesia and of the periodical, Apostolate, for the time being a monthly, managed by the Episcopal Conference.

CAMEROON

The plenary assembly of bishops for the Jubilee

The Church of Cameroon has started to prepare for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The starting point of its itinerary towards the Holy Year was the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of Cameroon which was held in the capital, Yaoundé, from 6 to 12 April 1997. The meeting was preceded by a capillary preparatory work in the single dioceses, which responded to a questionnaire on the meaning of Jesus Christ for the man of Cameroon, the difficulty to meet him in the context of today and the validity of the Christian pastoral proposed up until now to the faithful of this part of Africa. During the meeting Monsignor Gabriel Simo presented the content of the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente. Other speakers and delegates then addressed the themes of catechesis, of the relationship of traditional religion with Christianity, of the needs of the population of Cameroon and of the most important ideas which emerged from the questionnaire. It was decided that the celebration of the Great Jubilee must be introduced in the same manner in which efforts are made to inculturate Christian faith in Africa. This must not have any other purpose than that of promoting the Cameroonian man's encounter with Christ, starting with the Bible and catechesis, moving on to a study of the evangelising action of the Church and the possibilities offered by the culture and traditional religion of Cameroon to draw nearer to God made man. In this manner, the Jubilee can truly serve to better discover Jesus, inviting everyone to conversion.

«Catholic Christians in Cameroon need to revive in the individual and collective conscience what Jesus Christ's birth in the world of men means for them today» said Abbott Etienne Ngue, Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroon. «In this effort of coscientisation, the priority goes back to the rediscovery of the history of salvation through the Bible. The preparation of the Jubilee must be a favourable time to re-read the imprints of God in the history of men, but it must also lead to a better appreciation of our humanity. Or rather of what we are subsequently to our culture, with everything positive and negative it implies, to understand better toward what new humanity Christ invites us becoming one of us and inserting himself actively in our history».

Dario Busolini

GUINEA

Preparation with enthusiasm and commitment

The first year of preparation for the Jubilee was lived with enthusiasm and commitment in Equatorial Guinea. The diocese of Ebebilyín is following the plan prepared last January, so that «the figure of Jesus Christ, only Saviour of the world, (remains) yesterday, today and always» within every Christian of the community. The pastoral initiatives agreed to with all the parish priests were made concrete following three main principles: prayer, with a strong impulse towards the adoration of the Lord, the recitation of the Rosary (particularly intense in the Joyous Mysteries) and the organisation of pilgrimages to the sacred places of the country; secondly catechesis, through conferences and meetings of a Christological nature, also to comment on the Redemptor Hominis and Tertio Millennio Adveniente. An initiative addressed at the phenomenon of the spiritistic rites, and particularly at the «Mibili», which are insidious because at times they are practised in apparent harmony with religion. Finally attention toward young people and their energies addressed at growth and renewal. Meeting and sharing occasions have multiplied. In addition to sacred representations, concerts and singing contests, the «IV Week for young people», a meeting at a diocesan level, held at the end April was successful. Through music, theatre and cinema, hundreds of young people who participated daily were able to share and study subjects such as pardon, justice, reception, freedom and faithfulness, as the basic values of Christian life. Each of these themes was the focus of a day, introduced with prayers and singing, and followed immediately by readings from the Gospels, selected on purpose to stimulate dialogue and reflection. The Week culminated in a special mass, that underlined the value of the meeting and the results of the spiritual growth achieved

INDONESIA

For a new season in the church and in society

With the reading in all churches of the pastoral letter Waiting for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 by Cardinal Archbishop Julius Darmaatmadja, on 29 June 1997, the Feast of the apostles Peter and Paul, the Archbishop of Jakarta officially launched the preparatory phase of the Holy Year.

After all, the Indonesian Episcopal Conference and the Central Committee for the «Plan of action for the development of Lenten» had already conformed to the programs for the preparation of the Jubilee. Therefore, also for the Catholics of the capital of Indonesia, this year is devoted to the rediscovery of Jesus, while the next one will be devoted to that of the Spirit and 1999 to God as Father. Delaying the practical formalities of the celebration to future indications by the Committee for the Jubilee, the letter brings to the attention of the faithful the meaning of the Holy Year and outlines the novelties, introduced in the history of salvation by Jesus, that make it opportune to celebrate his two thousandth birthday in a different way from the customary one. Cardinal Darmaatmadja addresses in particular the «new situation» created by the birth of Christ. This leads to well-being and peace through the liberation of man from the various slaveries of sin. Basing itself on the ancient biblical jubilee which commemorated the end of Egyptian oppression, the New Testament thus takes on the most complete sense of an occasion for renewed social and spiritual, individual and collective redemption. Calling people to conversion in response to the grace received by God, Holy Years have also become a kind of «social doctrine», capable of stimulating the Christian testimony of men and women. Thus, considering that the grace of renewal consists in freedom and peace, the purpose of the preparation for the Jubilee will be, in the first place, that of trying to create a «new atmosphere» in the Church and in religious institutions, where unfortunately there are signs of «injustice, mutual mistrust, lack of forgiveness and brotherhood, dishonesty and intolerance» and therefore in society and in the work place. That way, the Jubilee will serve to improve the quality of life and the ministry of every priest, so that he may dedicate himself only to Christ and the brothers, of every religious, so that he may make his charisma more visible, and that of every believer so that he may be freed from materialism and be able to conform his life to the will of the Lord.

«Modern social life shows that differences can easily give rise to conflicts, hostility and vandalism. Therefore - the Cardinal writes - we must increase the quality of our brotherhood developing love, which can conquer hatred, forgiveness, which is stronger than revenge, trust, which is more solid than suspicion. We increase the quality of social life respecting human dignity, especially that of the poor man and of the outcast, cultivating justice, honesty and the spirit of sacrifice for the common good».(D.B.)

THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA

The new century, the new evangelisation

A congress of Catholics dedicated to the theme «The new century to the theme, the new evangelisation: God's people, in a spirit of communion and co-operation, proclaim the good news of Jesus, the Saviour, complete the mission of service of Christ and widen a family of faith, hope and charity» is the proposal launched by the Chinese Episcopal Conference in its Pastoral Letter in preparation for the Jubilee.

The document (which has the same title as the congress The new century, the new evangelisation) gathers the indications provided last year by the dioceses, the religious communities and by lay groups and inserts the Chinese ecclesial path toward the year 2000 in the furrow of the process of renewal of the pastoral and of evangelisation, already started in 1983, with the celebration of the fourth centennial of the arrival in China of Father Matteo Ricci, followed by the 1988 Conference on evangelisation and by the seven hundred years from the arrival of Fra' Giovanni of Montecorvino, the 135 years from the evangelisation of Taiwan, the 70 years from the ordination of the first Chinese bishops and the 50 years from the erection of an ecclesiastical hierarchy in China.

The meeting on the New century, the new evangelisation will represent, according to the bishops the ideal place to prepare an effective pastoral plan for the future. It doesn't pretend to cover all the aspects of evangelisation in the XXI century (since, as they write, the changes introduced by this new era appear so fast so as to prevent extensive planning), but only the guidelines and objectives for the coming years. Among these, the Chinese Church underlines the urgency to extend the task of the evangelisation - in the past reserved to priests, to religious and to catechists - to every baptised, making him understand that it doesn't only consist in the conversion of the others, of non Christians, but in the first place in one's own in order to give truthful testimony of the Gospel at an individual and social level. God's people in all its components will therefore have to prove it is able to promote the word of Christ, peace, social justice, cultural exchanges, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, in a spirit of communion and co-operation. The bishops of China wish to find with their faithful ways and structures of evangelisation more in line with the real needs of people, of the environment, of the times and of society. Avoiding getting fixed on by now antiquated schemes, they want to reach a freer proclamation of the Gospel at an individual level, respectful of what the Spirit suggests to each one and in line with the indications of the Second Vatican Council, of Paul VI and of John Paul II.

Charity will be the sign of this change. Abandoning every tendency to "conquer" people or to be served, Chinese Christians must show greater attention to the needs of the poor and the oppressed, imitating the spirit of service and sacrifice of Christ and overcoming the temptation of individualism and isolation, produced by the perverse effects of economic progress and urbanism. The preparation of the Conference on the new century and the new evangelisation - open to all the bishops and representatives of priests, of religious and of the laity - is therefore at the centre of the work of Chinese dioceses, currently fixing the date and defining the technical aspects of this important event. But the Chinese Church does not forget the programme outlined by Tertio Millennio Adveniente and devoted 1997 also to a stronger announcement of Jesus Christ Saviour.

SCOTLAND

Sharing and renewal

Starting from the bottom creating meeting occasions on the Word of God in families and in parishes, to ensure that the preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 becomes an occasion to make faith in Christ more alive through sharing and the testimony of the Christian experience of every person, inserted in small groups, as in the first Church. This is the practical path toward the Holy Year undertaken by the Catholic Church of Scotland, which begins 1998 - the time devoted to the Holy Spirit - by making available to priests, catechists and liturgical or prayer groups a series of aids to help every parish community to acquire greater awareness of how it must respond to the call of the Spirit.

In particular, the material distributed in view of Advent 1997 offers suggestions for the preparation of the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word on Sunday according to a jubilee perspective. The Scottish National Committee for the Jubilee has shown particular attention to young people, to the pupils of schools and to families. For the latter special prayers have been conceived to be recited when all family members are gathered together. Besides, in the wake of the good reception reserved to the 1997 aids on Jesus, a new book is already available providing guidelines for a small «do-it-yourself» retreat consisting of three meetings of an hour each, focused on the action of the Holy Spirit and on the theme of hope, entitled «Renew the Face of the Earth». A proposal addressed to «groups of sharing the faith» animated by lay people that gather in the parish or near the home of one of the members to meditate a passage of the Scripture together, sharing reflections and prayers.

«The will to gather in each other's houses, following the example of the first Christians, is already in itself a sign of our hope», wrote the President of the Scottish National Committee for the Jubilee of the Year 2000 and Bishop of Dunkeld, Vincent Logan, introducing this initiative. «If your group already met last year, you could have been you asked "What happens within a group of sharing the faith?", "Doesn't it bother you to spend your time like this? or "Is it not one of the many gatherings?" In answering such questions we explain the hope that is within us».

SPAIN

The Church in Seville and the celebration of the Jubilee. Letter for 1998

«Living and preaching the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: our permanent pastoral plan consists in this» writes the Archbishop of Seville, Carlos Amigo Vallejo, presenting the guidelines that will accompany the second year of jubilee celebrations. The year of the spirit and of hope, 1998, will be articulated according to five basic objectives, that will open the way to a series of initiatives and reflections that will accompany the dioceses up to the threshold of the new millennium.

The first chapter of commitment is represented by attention to the priest, to the priestly ministry, seen as the first protagonist of the announcement. The second point concerns the eucharistic celebration as food of faith for the whole community and vehicle of communion with the whole Church. The interest for the family, as the privileged area for the realisation of a global and permanent action of catechesis and training, the first area of announcement and mission, is another of the strong points of this pastoral plan. Finally, social and charitable action and the resumption and support for Catholic Action follow.

All the initiatives put forward to realise the initiatives planned within these five fields of interest, will have different recipients: some will require the participation of all the parishes, others will be open to everybody but addressed at a particular sector of interest and activity (catechesis, culture, pastoral...). Finally, others, will be addressed at a precise target of participants (religious, families, young people...).

For example, as far as the formation of priests is concerned, days of spirituality and a permanent training course on the theme «Dominum et vivificatem» have been planned. With regard to reflection on the Eucharistic celebration, the idea is to invite the communities to investigate the relationship with the Eucharist both through study - with courses prepared by the Institute of Liturgy of the dioceses - and through a cycle of homilies with a specific theme tied to the moments of the liturgical year. Finally the groups will be asked to participate and animate the eucharistic celebration during the week.

The families chapter passes through courses of catechesis, the promotion of the apostolic movement of families and the celebration of the sacrament of Confirmation for adults. A large diocesan conference, on Charity and poverty, will be held at the end of November will represent the moment to take stock of a one-year path which will include the promotion of voluntary work, of schools of socio-political formation, and of attention to the conditions of hardship in large suburban areas. Finally the attention for the renewal and re-launch of Spain's Catholic Action starts from the parishes but is aimed mainly at the formation of spiritual assistants and at work in favour of young people in collaboration with the diocesan plan for the pastoral of youth.

FRANCE

Aid on the "Holy Spirit and confirmation"

As already happened in 1996, also for this liturgical year the French National Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 presided by the Bishop of Never, Monsignor Moutel, has organised the preparation of an episcopal document entitled «The Advent of the Year 2000». The document is a dossier focusing on the «Figure of the Holy Spirit in the prayer of the Church and on the Sacrament of the Confirmation».

The purpose of the aid is to accompany the reflection and prayer of Christians within their families, in communities and in the dioceses during the whole liturgical year 97-98. The face of the Holy Spirit, the Sundays of Advent of the year C and the consecration of one's own life to the Holy Spirit: these are the three sections that make up the aid produced by Father Jacques Turch, charged with the sacramental pastoral of the diocese of Naterre.

«An assistance in the management of our life» - that's how Monsignor Francois Favreau, Bishop of Nanterre defines the presence of the Holy Spirit in every Christian. It refers to an illuminated management, thanks to the spirit of intelligence, backed by that of strength and fed by the spirit of love. The beginning, the wind, the puff, a vision, these are some of the definitions used in the Bible to try to explain the personality of the Holy Spirit, but it can also be defined like «the breath with which God animates the heart of man».

The presence of the Holy Spirit is manifested through the gestures and the intentions of daily life, in our drawing closer to others, especially bringing comfort and joy to whom suffers. The aid is also an interesting aid for those, young people and adults, who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. This sacrament updates the presence of the Holy Spirit in each one of us. Confirmation, today, is received when one is young or as an adult; in both cases one prepares for it following a path which will conduct, both young people and adults, to take conscience of the faith through the reception of the Baptism, of Confirmation and of the Eucharist. In order to obtain a better understanding of the meaning of this sacrament, from October 1995, the Plenary Assembly of the French episcopate established that Confirmation was to be received during adolescence, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, following a two-year preparation and study period of specific catechetical aids.

As mentioned the book prepared by the French Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 was also intended to provide guidelines which the priests will be able to follow during the four Sundays of Advent 1997. They refer to chants, readings, points of reflection for the homilies, indications for catechists and Christian educators in general. The Virgin Mary is also of particular importance this year. Her unconditional trust in the Lord and in the work of the Holy Spirit are testimony of how much man, thanks to his prayers and study of the Word, can raise his soul to the Lord.

With the beginning of the second year of the preparatory phase for the jubilee event the French church also published a second aid focused on the Holy Spirit, the theme which will characterise the reflection of the Catholic Church during the whole liturgical year as established by Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente. The Holy Spirit, reads the text produced by the Assistant Bishop of Lourdes, Monsignor Perri, represents the principal agent of the new evangelisation based on helping the weak and those in conditions of poverty, not only material but also spiritual. At the end of every chapter of the aid «Toward the Jubilee of the Year 2000» one can find interesting ideas for reflection to be developed within the communities, in dioceses but especially in families, the place from where the message of life consecrated to the Holy Spirit must start.

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