Link

Edition October 2000

Upcoming Fimcap events and meetings

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FIMCAP information stall

Many Fimcap representants have already regretted the absence of a Fimcap information stall, so Fimcap has acquired one and inaugurated it during the World Youth Days in Rome. The stall is made of 12 panels of 72 by 78 cm with a total surface of about 2,3 m by 2,9 m. It weighs approx 15 kilos, can be completely disassembled, transported in a cylinder and easily updated and adapted. It gives an idea about the Fimcap activities, the aims and the member organisations per continent, Fimcap’s structure and Link.
More information about on the information stand is available from the Fimcap Secretariat.

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On Link

Letter from Kiro Notre Dame de Lourdes in Gom (Dem Rep. Congo)

We would like to thank you very much for the bi-monthly newsletter Link. We can assure you that Link is a real moral support for us, a support that we need now that we are starting Chiro work in Goma (Dem. Rep. of Congo) for the first time. In this period of war, the youth needs an adequate moral and spiritual support. Our movement is still very young, but things have already changed in one year. More than 20 youngsters are meeting every Sunday.

Kahavu-Kambale Julien

Dear friends,

I am writing to thank you for the newsletter Link. I would like to mention the internet address of my Jupach group, San Miguel de Hualpencillo. knowing very well that this address isn’t a national one. It is the home page of one of the many Jupach groups in Chile. This is the address all Fimcap members can use to reach us: http://orbita.starmedia.com/~jupach_san_miguel

Greetings to all and thank you,
Ricardo F. Sobarzo R.
Coordinator
Jupach San Miguel
Hualpencillo - Talcahuano.
Chile

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About Link Editorial, June 2000

We can do it together -A response?

Upon reading the article in the Link June 2000, entitled "We can do it together" I must compliment the writer on encouraging youth organisations to work together. Many governments and individuals can learn from this.

Coming from Africa, which is my reality, and reading the article, the words "Migration is a high-priority issue in most European countries, where masses of people are knocking on the doors of the economic prosperous democracies" struck me. Why are "masses of people" choosing "to knock on the doors" of most European countries who have "economic prosperous democracies"? Why do those people not choose to remain in their countries of origin?

History tells us that conquered peoples lived in their own civilisations before encountering the so called "discoverers". Upon encountering these foreigners, with exceptions of a few, most were welcoming and offered whatever resources they had as a token of friendship and hospitality. Unfortunately this gesture back fired on them. The price for the generosity was the loss of their dignity as people and a nation. Through many oppressive measures they were stripped of their existence as human beings. Can these former colonial countries afford today to find migration annoying because everybody will know that letting them all enter is no solution"? Yes, there are those who use excuses to make a profit and use the concept of danger as an excuse. But what about those legitimate cases? What about those who do not know if they will see daylight, or will see their children again ? What about those who have to leave their families behind, in search of a better future? Is it just to argue that people are coming to make a profit? And, so what if they are coming to make a profit? Is this not what capitalism has taught us, make a profit even if it is at the expenses of others? We have heard this sentiment expressed, "poor people are lazy and those who have wealth have worked hard to earn it". Is this now not the very value that has been built into systems of government and society at large?

In my country, there is an element of xenophobia. One of the reasons for this is ignorance and fear. Yes, it exists- after all, are we not recovering from years of Apartheid and isolation? I guess, we too follow the strict criteria from the Western democracies in sifting out who is either acceptable or unacceptable to enter the country. My feeling tells me that we are probably more lax in our control of those visitors coming from Western Europe and North America as compared to those who come from the very continent that we live on. Are we too turning our backs on those migrants seeking a better way of life?

We need to be more Christ-centred when making remarks about refugees. Is someone with assets and property more welcome than others because he or she is of no burden to society ? The Holy Father John Paul II reminded us at the XV International World Youth Days that we are the hope for tomorrow. As youth organisations, what is being done to ensure that those marginalised in our communities are being helped to "participate in social life"? Are they really participating or is lip service just being done so that we feel good at the end of the day having done something good for those "poor migrants". Would you take someone to your home and let them experience what family life is or is it easier to drop a coin in the collection bowl or give money to a charity and feel as though a contribution has been made? If this is your view, it needs to be rethought. "We can do something out of this world." It all begins with the greatest commandment of Love. Jesus said "love thy neighbour as thy love thyself". This world needs a lot of love. Love challenges us to move further than lip service. Love calls us to action. In acting we are then heeding Christ's commandment of love ...

Shaun Dunn
Chiro Southern Africa

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7th International Youth Forum

Rome, 12-15 AUGUST 2000

The 7th International World Youth Forum took place from 12-15 August 2000 in Rome. It was attended by over 350 youths representing their dioceses, youth movements and / or countries. It was a week of fun, learning, exchanging, praying and sharing in the Spirit of Christ. It was an opportunity to see the universality of the Church in action. It was a chance for interacting with each other for a few days in a spirit of tolerance and love. It was a place where East met West and North met South. This youth gathering represented the two million plus young people who were to attend the World Youth Days the following week. The theme of the Forum was "Let us walk in the footsteps of Christ". This theme was broken down into sub-themes for each of the following days, though all connected to the central theme.

As we celebrate the 15th World Youth Day in the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, we, the participants of the 7th International Youth Forum, representing the diverse cultures of the world, would like to share the fruits of our reflections. We feel the desire of young people entering the third millenium to actively face the challenges within our hearts, our religious and social environments, our countries and our world.

The Holy Father, voicing the call of the Church, invites us: "Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millenium!".

But what does holiness mean to us? It means being a sign of contradiction to the values of the society; it means forgiving and reconciling; it means acting in our daily life renewed by God’s Love; it means carrying hope to the ones who have no hope; it means living in Jesus Christ, the One that loves us with all our faults and qualities; it means being willing to go against the current and to carry the burden of the cross.

Bearing the hardships of the cross and the difficulties it entails, we must remain coherent and committed to our faith. Engulfed with the grace of God and the support and care of others as well as our past experiences, we are filled with confidence and certainty that we can face any obstacle. But in our daily struggle through life, the road is not always smooth, nor has it ever been promised to be so. Walking through these spiritual valleys, we must maintain our focus and trust in God, following the example of Mary, our mother.

Faith is not an act of our own will, it is a gift of God acting in our lives, a gift that grows in sharing. Communication of faith awakens our potential to love as Christ loves, for "the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us" so that we may always dwell in him. Christ, who lives in us, is the force which enables us to be a living testimony to those afflicted by the moral ailments of a society of which we form part. The very core of a life in Christ is the cry for unity and equality in a world full of diverse cultures and in need of renewal.

The different expressions of the same Faith according to diverse cultures, are for us the motivation to assume our responsibilities and to be active in our local churches. So let us commit ourselves to making them more alive, filled with young people and more adapted to the local situation. Let us also participate actively in the discussions about the role of the youth in the church and of the church in the world. Let us accept and respect all those who live different beliefs and take different paths through life in order to build a world of peace.

We merely hope that these reflections may serve as possible solutions to overcome our challenges. Yet the only answer is Christ ...The Christ of Yesterday, Today and Forever.

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Impressions of a participant at the World Youth Days

Delegates from the Forum were invited by the Pontifical Council for Laity to attend the opening ceremony presided by the Holy Father at St. Peters’ Square. Seeing all these young people from all over the world filling the streets made one realise how universal the church is.
The following days, the city was abuzz with catechism, Holy Mass, concerts, music, etc. The "Via Crucis" or Way of the Cross was held on 18 August. This very solemn ceremony included candles and wooden crosses being carried throughout the procession. The procession focussed on the challenges and struggles people and countries have to face in the world.

The following day, all young people came together at Tor Vergata for an encounter with the Holy Father. It was estimated that about two million youth had come to the celebrations of the day. The activity began with a small concert. Many prayers were said. Youth from different countries gave testimonies of difficulties they encountered. They shared these testimonies to give hope to youth of the world. The day ended with a colourful display of fireworks and songs, leaving many amazed, in awe and excited.

Many youth remained in vigil at Tor Vergata in anticipation of the closing ceremony of the World Youth Days. The eucharistic celebration presided by the Holy Father ended the World Youth Days. He thanked the youth of the world for their hard work and commitment to carrying out the gospel. An announcement was made that the next World Youth Day would take place in two years time in Toronto, Canada.

Shaun Dunn,
Chiro Southern Africa.

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Rome 2000!

I wished these days would be the longest of my life even though they were really exhausting. We were full of enthusiasm, willing to work, it was a joy, a challenge in solidarity. The masses of pilgrims seemed to be never-ending, but we were all together and the joy of this Jubilee was omnipresent. Also the Oratorio Pontificio San Pietro, where about thirty Italian leaders organised two afternoons of activities, called "Oratory, what a party", showed the reality of the oratories. Together with the other young leaders from Salerno, Brescia and Milan, all the oratories of Italy gathered under the same flag for the first time, the one of the FOI (Forum of the Italian Oratories)! Cultural exchanges took place, in fact we spoke in many different languages, English, Italian and many other languages. We hosted people from Burundi, Austria, Denmark and from many other countries...

My friends and I also organised a permanent exhibition about the so-called "big games", the girls from Brescia prepared bracelets, T-shirts and paintings, the girls from Salerno thought about some water games. The 16th of August came quickly, and we were waiting for the pilgrims to come to our activities. The preparation of the stands had been exhausting, but it was so emotional! More than four hours of activities each day, and in the evening the only things we longed for were a cold shower and a bed.
Bert van den Bossche came to represent Fimcap at the World Youth Days from 13 up to 20 August. So, for the very first time in its history, Fimcap had an official stand at the WYD, with Bert giving out information and distributing leaflets about Fimcap.

The "Incontragiovani" meetings were a great success. In fact, the mobile stall, full of information about Fimcap and its activities, was in the middle of the FOI exhibition, and hundreds of young people were attracted by Bert, who explained everything about Fimcap. At the end of the explanation all the pilgrims (especially the Italian ones) stared in wonder, saying: "Does such an organisation really exist? Do you really organise all these activities?" Yes, of course!

Many "Fimcap freunde" came to our oratory during the activities, transforming that place into an international meeting point: leaders from Patro, from Suk, from Duk and from many other youth organisations joined our party. On Thursday we also had a "Fimcap evening": 13 Italian leaders, 5 from South Africa and 49 (!!!) Maltese youths sang and danced, presenting their organisations to the others. It was not a big meeting, like an Euroforum, but we felt very close in the spirit of Fimcap, even if we were small in numbers. With this little event we closed all our activities and went to Tor Vergata.

See you all in Toronto 2002!

Paola Argirà
Pietro Maggiore
FOI

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Another reaction

Marisa Zahra
ZAK

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Coming home...

Corno de Mol,
Jong Nederland

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The two faces of Rome

I have mixed feelings looking back at the World Youth Days in Rome with mixed feelings. On the one hand it was a wonderful experience, on the other hand I was confronted with many things I did not like. In my opinion the World Youth Days had two sides. I will explain this.

When I heard that a Dutch organisation was looking for volunteers I immediately stepped forward. They needed volunteers to guide a group of 45 young people through Rome. I knew it was going to be hot, busy, chaotic and hard, so I will not complain about that. It was part of the deal and part of the fun. When more than two million people come together, things can not be organised perfectly and run smoothly all the time.

The young people loved it. There was so much to do and to see, there were so many people to meet. It was a tremendous experience for all of them. As a volunteer trying to keep everybody together I did not have much time to enjoy it all, but I know the participants did. That is what count. That was the side of Rome I liked very much.

But the World Youth Days also had a second side; one I did not like. One thing I was afraid, of even before I went to Rome, was the enormous crowd of people. It is very hard to resist a crowd of two million people. I saw them all around me. People I know cheering after every word the Pope said even though they had not understood a word of it. What was the sensation they felt? Was it God’s presence or was it something else? This is all the more disturbing for me because I did not have any opportunity to discuss it with somebody. Though I strongly believe in the Catholic church, there are many things I do not agree with. The position of the church on topics like abortion, euthanasia, the position of women, homosexuality, divorce, preservatives, etc. is at least disputable. To believe should not mean to hide behind the Church’s opinion and to hand over all responsibility for the consequences of it.

From personal experience I learned that the position of the Church on these topics caused enormous pain and destroyed many lives. None of these important issues were mentioned in Rome. Is a good Catholic a numb Catholic, flowing with the masses and blindly following the big leader? The leader who, after all, is still a human being.

This would not have disturbed me so much if I had sensed a true feeling of belonging together, if I had felt as part of a community of people trying to create a better world, living the way Jesus showed us. But I saw many things that showed me the contrary. People in wheelchairs being pushed away so they could not enter s bus. People collapsing in the heat and being left alone. Eventually, somebody took care of them, but only after many others had already passed by. It is not difficult to be a good person only to those who do not need it.

I do not want to give the impression that I only saw negative things. Many people did help each other. Many people did discuss things with an open mind. But I did not read one article or see one programme on television with any criticism. Only people who are not Catholic or already had an anti-Catholic attitude criticised the World Youth Days. Are we Catholics blind to these things? I hope not. But for the time being I feel very isolated with my opinion.

Corno de Mol
Jong Nederland

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Youth and non-violent action

"The Big Lakes Region is still experiencing blood-shedding conflicts with refugees, orphans, displaced and wounded people. In our countries, where leaders avid for money and power are advocating ideologies that kill, little room is left to the actions and decisions of young people. Paradoxes and diverging opinions on essential issues endanger the future of the population of central Africa. The workshop wants to be curative and preventive and invite the youth to non-violent action".

Thus Zénon Manirakiza, Vice-president of the Afroconference, at the opening ceremony of the regional workshop "Youth and non-violent action" in Burundi. The workshop took place from 23-30 July 2000. The Grand Seminary of the Holy Vicar of Ars of Bujumbura hosted members of Catholic Action movements (MAC) of the region of the Big Lakes. It was a unique meeting for members of Chiro Burundi, Xaveri Burundi, Xaveri Rwanda, Xaveri Uganda, Xaveri Congo and Chiro Flanders Belgium. The Fimcap organisations from Central Africa met to discover and understand the specific problems and needs of young people, but especially to elaborate a strategy and consider possible actions. The aim of the workshop was to train peace workers through conferences, small workshops and lots of personal exchanges. The work in small groups was very fruitful and favoured interesting exchanges on the socio-political realities of the countries afflicted and the often fragile situation of the Fimcap members in Central Africa.

Some immersion activities enabled to get to know the Burundi reality: the opening ceremony with music and dances performed by local Xaveri and Chiro groups, a tour of Bujumbura, a Peace Concert and, last but not least, the many talks in the evenings giving the opportunity of making new friends, exchanging experiences and meeting each other, and even looking forward to a common co-operation in future. The youth has suffered a lot and is giving a clear signal to the authorities: No wars and no violence anymore! They also ask to forgive their past errors and silence ... The participants committed themselves to pass on the basic principles and methods of non-violent action to put an end to violence and promote sports and cultural exchanges between the members of the Afroconference in Central Africa.

Koen Bostoen

I would thank you for the strong support we received from Fimcap and Pro Africa Foundation for organising the regional workshop on: "Youth and Non-violent Action". Koen Bostoen, who represented Chiro Flanders can witness about the successful meetings and events of this workshop in Bujumbura (Burundi), from 23-30 July 2000. Present were: Chiro Burundi (8), Xaveri Congo (8), Xaveri Burundi (11), Xaveri Rwanda (2) and Xaveri Uganda (4). Chiro Congo didn't come because Lubumbashi is still harmed by the ongoing war in the Dem. Rep. of Congo. In view of the achieved results I can say this workshop was a success.

Zénon Manirakiza
Burundi

The full report and the final declaration of this workshop is available from the Fimcap secretariat (zegervanb@chiro.be ; tel. +32 3 231 07 95 ; fax. +32 3 232 51 62). You can also write to Zénon Manirakiza (crid@cni.cbinf.com ; tel. +257 215057 ; mobile +257 924 430 ; fax. +257 223027).

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News from Taiwan

Marcel Goffart, chaplain of Chiro Taiwan for many years, paid a visit to the Fimcap secretariat on 11 August. The exact name of the organisation is MSSA, "Middle School Student's Association". The whole national team is in the meantime Taiwanese. Marcel Goffart still supports the activities and keeps contacts, but he is no more mandated by the organisation.

Chiro youth work in Taiwan is going on quietly. There are quite a few activities in the 10 parish groups and the 10 school groups. The activities are similar, but the school groups focus on the pupils of a specific school. Each group gives its own specific characteristics to its activities.
There is no rush, because the classical youth movement is really an "import product" there and not part of the local culture. Regular meetings are not always possible, and family gatherings always come first. Another point is that Taiwanese students study a lot, have complementary classes and private lessons at weekends. This means that the group leaders sometimes do not come to the activities.

There isn’t much contact among the dioceses. Chiro work is mainly present in the Taipei Diocese. They also organised diocesan training courses for group leaders. A recent initiative was a training of teachers at Catholic schools.

They are of course still member of Fimcap, but for the moment it is quite difficult for them to playan active part. The national team has poor knowledge of English and this would bring some difficulties at a General Assembly. Marcel qualifies the membership as being dormant, but they are clearly still member of the big Fimcap family.

Zeger Van Besien

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Bureau meeting Europe

18 to 20 June at NUK’s National Campsite Mariaholm in Norway

Finally it was Norway’s turn to invite all of EOF delegates to beautiful Mariaholm, situated in the south-east of Norway, in a dense forest with a large grass plain all around, by the lake Øyeren, one of the largest in Norway. Not only the sunshine helped to make it a wonderful weekend. It was mainly due to the enthusiastic EOF delegates and the more than 20 young NUK members who were there for a so-called voluntary working weekend. NUK organises this once a year, and the participants get free room and board for helping out on maintenance and odd jobs on and off the campsite. Joining all these people was the National Board of the NUK, who had their last meeting of the working year that same weekend! So all in all we were around 40 people, enjoying each others company, working, eating, talking and discussing together, cross-cultural and multilingual! NUK presented itself, its field of working and its activities, highlighted by the Scandinavian pilgrimage to Rome, to the World Youth Days (WYDs). Some will travel together, as NUK and DUK do, and some will travel alone (SUK has a whole train with 500+ participants). Forum Oratori, Italy (FOI), have their own activity at the WYDs, where Fimcap will be represented. Over 2 million young Catholics come together to celebrate the Third Millennium together with the Pope.

Among other things discussed, was our new way of working in working groups. It seems to have got off to a really good start. Some have achieved a flying start, others are slowly progressing in their work, whilst others again have not yet come to something concrete to present, but are on their way to something great! A lot has been done, and it seems that this could be a good way of working for the Bureau, ensuring that all Bureau members take part in the progress and responsibility of the work that is being done in Fimcap Europe. The main focus was of course on the recent Euroforum in St.Antoni in Switzerland. Over 120 participants agreed that the event was a success, with getting a suntan, seeing many different sites of the beautiful Swiss countryside, meeting people from all over Europe, even Lithuanians, and despite having to sleep in tents.

At this same event Forum Oratori presented its first ideas for the next Euroforum, the 2001 Cesenatico Euroforum, the first one ever held at or near the beach. The Italians didn’t let us down, and promised, next to interesting workshops on the theme "The number three - Third World, Third Millennium, Holy Trinity, and the Third Economy", the first and best ever Euroforum Beach Party!
ZAK Malta invited us for the second time in three years to visit their lovely island in the middle of the Mediterranean, and join them for the 2001 Eurocontact. If you missed it in 1998, be there in 2001 ... !

All in all I can assure you that this Bureau meeting was a success. Not only for the Fimcap Europe Bureau, but for NUK as well. It gave these Northerlings their first real taste of the beauty called Fimcap, and maybe we succeeded in giving them their first Fimcap feeling, hoping it will awaken a thirst for more! The two first ever NUK participants at a Fimcap activity, the Swiss Euroforum, have been totally smitten, and promised to come back next year with plenty more NUK’ers!
Here’s me signing off, hoping for more of this enthusiasm!

Sebastiaan GMC van Dijk
EOF Vice President.

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Bureau meeting in Lingby

2-3 September 2000

In September, the Bureau meeting was hosted by the Danmarks Unge Katolikker in the Catholic school of Lingby, Denmark. This time again, the trip to reach our final destination was rather difficult for some. At the meeting we also welcomed as special guests Miguel and Gabriel from Nippac, our Paraguayan sister organisation.

It was the first time that Carme, Sebastiaan and myself had the possibility to prepare this meeting in life. We tried to consider two things: to work out the meeting in a chronological way and leave enough time for the work in work groups.

On Saturday morning, we discussed the past activities: last remarks on the Euroforum 2000, the World Camp, the African seminar on non-violent action, the Roundabout projects, the World Youth Days in Rome, and so on. We were all very surprised of what we can realise: so many exchanges in such a short time giving many of us the opportunity to experience the Fimcap feeling. In spite of some things that could be improved, everybody felt the positive energy coming out of such exchanges!!!

On Saturday afternoon, we discussed the present topics. First, we worked in working groups, giving us each group the possibility of concretising their objectives. Many good ideas came out of it. The work will continue!

In the late afternoon, we had a presentation of the new structure of DUK by Maurits and Alyce from the national board (having their meeting in Copenhagen at the same time). The main change of the structure is the number of committees being reduced to 4 (school, local, national and a transversal one) taking over the work of the former 14 committees (which also means that more work has to been done by fewer people). We presented the results of in the working groups.

We also discussed the financial situation of some European organisations, especially the implications towards international affairs. Due to reduction or lack of subventions, the international representatives and commissions are more and more responsible for raising money to support the international work of the organisation. The budget for international work is the first to be cut, which is of course an uncomfortable situation for all of us. I believe that a more profound reflection on this subject must be made soon.

After the meeting, we first had a celebration in the church next to the school and then we went for a drink in the centre of Lingby.

On Sunday, we started the discussion on the future points: Euroforum 2001, the Fimcap General Assembly in Ghana, Eurocontact 2001, Bureau meetings, Euroforum 2002, and so on. We also presented the activity calendar as agreed upon during last bureau meeting. Again, we had to observe that many activities will happen. We hope that these activities will be as positive and constructive as this Bureau meeting was. Thanks to everyone who helped it turn out that way.

Kurt van der Herten
EOF President

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Chiro Flanders’ Krinkel, an international camp

Dourbes-Johannesburg-Asunción
Krinkel moved the borders. Chiro Flanders invited brothers and sisters from all over the world to Dourbes, Belgium. For the first time in its history, four continents were present at the Krinkel camp. Getting visas for Belgium and raising funds to pay flights were really not simple matters. Taking care of these matters you notice how strong the fortress Europe is. Authorities are reluctant to allow eastern Europeans entering because they are afraid of illegal entries. Another problem is raising funds. Only the western Europeans can afford to pay their own travels costs. Applications for funding were presented to the European Union, the Flemish government, etc.

The people of the international commission did a very good job and gathered a nice international group. About 50 guests from Africa (Southern Africa), Latin America (Paraguay, Chile), Europe (Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland , Albania, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine) and Asia (Philippines) exchanged with their Belgian friends. Every guest had a "Buddy" to help him or her understand things during the whole week. The role of the Buddy is to try to avoid misunderstandings. He or she is a Chiro leader who translates, is a person to trust and ask about whatever is incomprehensible or strange.
Seven days of intense community life with people from different continents is pleasant and enriching, but also rather difficult. Inter-cultural communication is a challenge and therefore interesting!

Koen Bostoen

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SUK Belarus

SUK is supporting an emerging youth movement in Belarus, one of the most isolated countries in Europe. Under the dictatorship of president Lukashenka, most nations have cut their ties with this part of the world which gained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Even more so, the Catholic church has been facing a struggle. Although 25% of the population are Catholics, amounting to about 2-3 million members, the church is mainly treated as in opposition to the present regime. In this environment it is hard to believe that any youth work can thrive. Nevertheless, during a fact finding trip in 1998, a team from the Young Catholics in Sweden made contacts with Catholic youth groups in five towns in Belarus. We discussed possibilities of supporting them, with the aim to promote a national youth structure. SUK applied for funds and received support for workshops on democracy and "organisational building". Until today, we have been able to conduct several workshops, weekend camps and other events. So far, about 30 000 Euro were granted on a 100% funding basis from the Swedish government. In the workshops we've taken up subjects like group dynamics, the use of statutes, the functions of a board, immigrant and minority groups. Next in line are two more workshops, one exclusively for female leaders, and another on strengthening the network between the youth in different dioceses. At the moment, there are active groups in practically all major towns, and good links between many leaders and priests all over Belarus. No decision has been taken yet on forming a national structure, and the process is being hampered by the authorities who refuse any religious groups the status of NGO. Thus, a Catholic youth group won't be recognized as a judicial body, cannot own bank accounts, rent an office, subscribe to telephone or Internet services, etc. So most of the religious work is done underground, with private persons as proxies.
There is also a mental barrier against organizing oneself due to the legacy of 80 years of communist rule, where most structures apart from the party were illegal. The perception of an NGO is very different from the west.

Still, we hope that in some years time, we can see the young Catholics in Belarus as a possible member of Fimcap.

Jan Sundström

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Croatia

At the end of June Fimcap was invited to the annual meeting of the European Fellowship in Zagreb, Croatia. The Catholic organisation "Mi" hosted the meeting together with the Catholic Crusaders. I met the presidents from both organisations and a volunteer and had interesting and open discussions with them; a report:

The Croatian University Catholic Community "MI" is a community of university students who live according the Gospel in a modern world. It is a lay movement that has been active within the church in Croatia since 1976. Apart from a youth newspaper, MI has developed new areas of work, one being the foundation and management of an orphanage for war victims.

Indeed, war has changed a lot but on first sight it is not immediately perceptible in Zagreb. Zagreb is very similar to the Austrian cities (as it once was part of Austria) and it was rebuilt in a few years time, a process that is still going on. However, the war has not been banned in people’s minds, says witness Robert Kunstek, MI’s president: "In 3 hours, 80 of my friends were killed. I can try to forgive the Serb, because I know that the individual is not the reason for this war. But I can never forget it."

MI wishes to promote the Christian faith among the youth under the motto "God, Church and Country". They stand for a nation based on Christian values, new evangelisation and the practical implementation of the Gospel. After this war, they oppose themselves to all forms of intolerance and violence,and encourage ecumenical unity wherever possible, following to the centuries old Croatian Christian tradition (70% of the population is Catholic).

They organise monthly lectures for young people on topics of interest and attend Mass together every first Friday of the month. Many of these activities happen in the local communities (parishes).

"The Croatian Catholic Crusaders have their monthly meeting for spiritual activities on Friday, too", says Branimir Buric, their president. "We also participate in processions organised by local parishes. Apart from these activities, we regularly organise seminars about different themes (e.g. challenges of the Christian youth work), summer camps and trips to Taizé and Rome."

With the Jubilee activities in Rome in mind, I invited them to visit the Fimcap stand and to participate in the afternoon activities of Forum Oratori Italia. The Euroforum 2001 in Italy could be a next step to discover Fimcap. I hope that this first meeting and also the concrete future possible contacts will promote the future collaboration among MI, the Crusaders and Fimcap.

Kurt van der Herten

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