SCHOENSTATT, mkf. "In the Original Shine, the Treasury
of Grace from the whole family is concentrated, and here all of the information
is concentrated!" says Dr. Roberto Ruiz Díaz Labrano from Asunción,
Paraguay. And he chides, "they know more about Paraguay here than we do!"
No one dreamt with this in that small group which gathered in House Franz
Reinish that autumn of 1997, reflecting if it would not be good for Schoenstatt
to be on the internet. This medium at that time had only been in existence
for five years, and it was not too clear what Schoenstatt could offer
there. Today, it is inconceivable to imagine the life of the Schoenstatt
Family without "Schoenstatt.de" on the world-wide scale.
Whoever wants to know if Schoenstatt is in Venezuela and where it is
located…..or what is going on at the new Shrine in Quito…..in Ecuador…..or
how they are celebrating St. Valentine’s Day in Milwaukee…..or how the
Pilgrim MTA is conquering parish after parish in Sicily, one only has
to go to Schoenstatt.de and will find what one is looking for there. The
two offices located in the old goldsmith shop in Schoenstatt gather the
news, information and questions from more than eighty countries…..and
week after week, the web page is consulted ten thousand times or more.
Behind each article, behind each photo, behind each bit of information,
not only is there hidden a great deal of work, but more than anything
are the persons who share with the rest something of great value which
they have: their life experiences, their experiences in Schoenstatt, their
commitment, their hopes and their decisions…..They share them with the
Schoenstatt Family and beyond. The Schoenstatt Family not only knows more
of what takes place in the different countries of the world where the
Movement exists, but also learns that which was so essential for Father
Kentenich: to respect and to value life as it is expressed in the different
cultures, languages, and levels of knowledge. One learns to know, to apply
and to live Schoenstatt. It is a school where one learns to live in a
multicultural society…..multifaceted…..in a globalized world.
"Ladies and gentlemen: by chance or by Providence, I found your web page.
I know Schoenstatt since by childhood and I have gone on pilgrimage there.
Is there a Schoenstatt newspaper? If there is one, I would gladly like
to subscribe," writes Ute Muller who lives near Hannover. "One Sunday,
while traveling, I found a Wayside Shrine of the Mother Thrice Admirable
of Schoenstatt. I was not familiar with this image but I liked it immediately.
The internet site’s address was also there as was an offering to send
to Schoenstatt the names of my loved ones. I want to do this and I want
to send this address to others," reads Liliana Saraceni’s email from Concordia,
Entre Ríos, Argentina. "I have no words to thank you for having
brought the Blessed Mother to my computer and to my life. Daily I now
see Her in my Home Shrine and I give the names of the persons who need
Her."
Present in the media
Vatican Radio announced the "One thousand scholarships, one thousand
wings" program of the DEQUENí Foundation in Paraguay. The Catholic
agencies Zenit and ACIprensa and a daily Catholic newspaper in Germany
anounced the Schoenstatt youths climbing the highest peak in America (the
Aconcagua which is more than 6,000 meters high) as a commitment to protecting
life: the Catholic radio station "Lower the Net" gave a great deal of
information on the generational barometer of the Forum for the Family;
Radio Eclipse from Argentina reported on the blessing of the Shrine in
San Fernando, Chile…..The University of Bochum searches for numbers on
the religious movements in North Renania, Westfalia; a travel agency in
Río de Janeiro wants to get a hold of the history of Schoenstatt
for the next pilgrimage to the Marian Shrines of Europe…..and all of this
information can be found and read on Schoenstatt.de.
Whoever arrives at the Schoenstatt Press Office is often astounded because
there are only two offices, one part-time webmaster and a full-time Schoenstatt
Sister of Mary. Behind what appears week after week on schoenstatt.de
is the commitment of hundreds of volunteer collaborators, especially from
North America and South America. There are correspondents who regularly
send in articles and photographs…..youths who continuously arrive at the
press office for a few weeks as volunteers, and above all, a stable nucleus
of about ten persons from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
and Ecuador who regularly translate articles…..edit and correct …..with
a great commitment since they do it in addition to their family and professional
obligations. And there are also continuous needs here: one of the two
translators from German to Spanish no longer has internet accessibility
in her home; present articles arrive in abundance and at the moment there
are no volunteers to translate into the German texts which are in Spanish,
English, or Italian.
The work of volunteers and individual contributions, and also the contributions
by the Institutes, Federations and the Father Kentenich Secretariat make
the existence of the Press Office possible.
Making ends meet
The income of the Schoenstatt Press Office in 2005 is made up of the
following: 50% is from the contributions of the above mentioned communities…..37%
comes from the subscriptions to the SCHOENSTATT AKTUELL Magazine…..10%
from donations…..and only 3% from the copyrights from the publication
of photos, for the use of the annual calendar and the electronic mail
addresses….. from Press Office seminars and other similar activities.
In addition, last year several important donations were made: from digital
cameras to condensed milk.
At the same time, 54% is for expenses which include the webmaster’s salary
and salaries for custodial personnel. 4% is for a great purchase: a new
computer. The rest is shared between printing expenses and mailing expenses
for SCHOENSTATT AKTUELL and the annual calendar, postage and expenses,
internet provider, telephone expenses, office supplies expenses and work
implements.
A budget was made for the whole year, but still some of the expenses
were not covered, because of lack of funds. A considerable deficit is
also foreseen for the Year 2006.
At the disposal of all the family
There are several suggestions that the users send to the Press Office:
the internal search engine of schoenstatt.de does not search all
the articles (only the ‚premium version’ = payed version works sufficiently,
but the one used now for economical reasons is the free version), it would
necessary to have more information and in more languages in the other
sections outside of the news, it also requires booklets in several languages
or material to distribute. The Schoenstatt map is not up to date and only
those who speak German can understand the directions and indications to
arrive. It would also be convenient to have a list that is always up to
date with information, maps, directions and photos of the Shrines in all
the world, of the social projects, the schools; as well as a greater offer
of basic reading material about Schoenstatt, more services, more possibilities
of downloading photos; in general to offer broader coverage besides the
"news", for example, to have video cameras in strategic places
such as the Original Shrine and Father’s tomb that are always "connected"
or when one wants it and there should be instant information from Rome
and Schoenstatt in given circumstances or for certain events.
These desires are justified, but they collide with time constraints and
most of all with finances. However, more than one was made concrete that
had been awaited with anguish: the Schoenstatt web pages on the Internet,
which is currently up to date. (this depends on whether the people have
registered all the webs sites that exist at the present time); the weekly
bulletin, free of propaganda and sent regularly; audio and video material
and an interactive site to ask for and to offer prayers for diverse needs.
Also in this Year 2006 schoenstatt.de and the Schoenstatt Press
Office again place all its strength at the service of the International
Schoenstatt Family. It is true that "in the Original Shrine the Capital
of Grace of all the Family is gathered, and here, all the information
is gathered.
Translation Carlos Cantú Family Federation La Feria,
Texas USA
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