Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Solothurn (Agenzia Fides) - On April 25-27, the Scalabrinian Secular Missionaries hosted the Scalabrini Spring Fest, in the Swiss town of Solothurn, where they are based. The event was open to anyone interested in finding out more and experiencing the Catholic nature of the Church. Among the nearly 400 participants were persons of various nationalities and languages, of all ages (children, young people, adults), of all social conditions and of all religious experiences, as their were 28 nations represented, as well as Catholics from countries where the major religion is not Catholicism, like the Christians from Iraq and Rumania.
“Let He who is ‘the first of all: Christ, the Head of the Body’ find us and send us” (cf. Col 1:18) was the theme of the event this year, inspired by the Episcopal Motto of Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, President of the Swiss Catholic Bishops’ Conference and keynote speaker at the event. The primacy of Christ over all things, proclaimed by St. Paul in his Letter to the Colossians, is today often a topic of discussion, sometimes in the name of interreligious dialogue. Bishop Koch responded with great competence and closeness to the questions presented by some of the participants, recalling the fact that all authentic dialogue should be rooted in profound convictions, at the heart of the Christian faith. The primacy of Christ finds its greatest expression in the Cross, where He reveals the universal love of God for all men, friends and enemies, no one excluded. Therefore, it is a primacy of love and not dominion that opens the way to reconciliation with God and with men.
After the question/answer session with the Bishop of Basel, the Fest continued with other important moments of encounter and dialogue, such as group discussions, a visit to the town of Solothurn and its surroundings, workshops and an afternoon with a musical concert and testimonies from the people of various nations, featuring the “Scalabrini Band” and young artists of various nationalities. The Mass was concelebrated by Fr. Gabriele Bortolamai, Scalabrinian missionary, Fr. Paul Rutz, Pastor of the Solothurn Cathedral, and Fr. Danku Balazs, parish priest from Satu Mare (Romania). It was an occasion to recognize and experience together the primacy of Christ’s love that leads every Christian on the path to reconciliation and acceptance of all life’s situations. (LD) (Agenzia Fides 29/4/2008; righe 30, parole 386)
