Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Corfu (Fides Service) - The 5th Meeting of Holy Childhood in Mediterranean and eastern European countries is being held from 12 to 17 November in Corfu (Greece) on the theme “Missionary Animation in our countries: contents, methods, tools”. The event is organised by the General Secretariat of the Pontifical Society Holy Childhood every two years in a different country (Spain 1997, Poland 1999, Rome 2001, Malta 2003), for Holy Childhood animators and directors . Participants come from Bosnia, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Syria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Holy Land and Tunisia. The aim is to share experience and discuss problems and initiatives with regard to missionary animation among children.
Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples sent a message to the participants in which he said among other things “More the national organisations Holy Childhood is able to extend the borders of Europe and bring together different nations with a special educational finality that the world might envy. While the great ones of the earth discuss problems of the less great, Holy Childhood quietly gives concrete expression to the Christian dimension of solidarity and its children with prayers and the fruit of their sacrifices reach the whole world”.
The Cardinal underlined the significant presence of Holy Childhood in African Mediterranean countries where Christians are a tiny minority. He said he hoped “Holy Childhood would become a factor of communion and a creative channel for evangelisation”. The presence of PMS national directors from Eastern European countries is promising for the growth of the Society and the respective local Church: “We are grateful to the Holy Spirit for kindling young and promising missionary Churches from the ashes of a long dictatorship”.
Lastly the Cardinal recalled that since its foundation 160 years ago Holy Childhood has been a seedbed of missionary vocations and offered a generous and creative contribution to the Church. He said he hoped it would “continue to express missionary prophecy to renews the Church on our continent”. In this perspective while congratulating the participants on this initiative he encourages them “to plan educational itineraries based on the value of Christian solidarity and which place children’s missionary efforts in the sacramental space of Christian initiation”. “May the missionary proposal - Cardinal Sepe concluded - among children become a process of sensitisation to Holy Childhood problems in the world and educate them to share the gift of faith and enable them to feel they are members of the universal Church”. (RZ) (Agenzia Fides 15/11/2005, righe 35, parole 451)
