volatile country’s prisons as part of what they call a "pilgrimage of trust on earth", the organization announced Sunday, November 24.
"We know Christ’s words, ‘I was in prison and you visited me,’ the youngsters said about the December prison trip in an open letter released by Taizé , which is based in France.
The young Christians plan to visit the Sutka and Idrizovo prisons in Macedonia’s capital Skopje. At Sutka there are reportedly 280 prisoners and at Idrizova 872, of whom 32 are women.
"We will go to the prisons on December 21 and 22 to sing Christmas carols. We want to shake each prisoner’s hand, wishing them Happy Christmas and a Good New Year, and handing over the presents we have prepared," the Christians wrote.
NATO
Their visit comes as the NATO peacekeeping force in Macedonia plans to stay at least another six months in the troubled Balkan country, where tensions remain high between Macedonians and minority estimated 600,000 ethnic Albanians.
Some former ethnic Albanian rebel leaders, who fought a bitter conflict last year, have been threatened with prison terms despite a European Union brokered peace agreement that granted amnesty to those not involved in war crimes during last years ethnic conflict.
It was unclear if former ethnic Albanian fighters are among the prisoners visited by the Christians, who stressed their mission was aimed at giving hope to everyone.
MOTHER TERESA
In cooperation with the Sisters of Mother Teresa, the Christians said they were "getting ready for another visit to our brothers and sisters who have lost their liberty," who some visited earlier in 2000, just before the bloody ethnic conflict began.
"We have begun preparing Christmas presents, one for each person in the two prisons.
Their visit also comes as Macedonia is under pressure to improve human and religious rights as part of its bid to join Western organizations such as the EU and NATO.
NEW PHENOMENA
Being able to promote Christianity in prisons is a relative new phenomena in former Communist Europe, including Macedonia, which was part of Yugoslavia till it declared independence in 1991. The Christians said they were inspired to visit prisons by the upcoming worldwide Taizé meeting in France from December 28 to January 1, 2003.
"In the leaflet (about the meeting) we read the sentence about ‘Taking part in the meeting in Paris means… preparing to visit those who are suffering, who are alone, ill, prisoners, foreigners…’"
SEPTEMBER 11
The Taizé meeting can be viewed as a follow up of last’s Christmas and New Year gathering in Budapest, Hungary, where an estimated 70,000 young Christians from Europe and around the world were seeking answers for the post September 11 world.
"We want that young people continue this pilgrimage (of trust) despite what happened on September 11," said German Brother Wolfgang from the Taizé community, in a recent interview with BosNewsLife.
Although organizers have stressed they do not intend to create a youth movement, most supporters are in their teens and twenties.
There has been a growing interest among youngsters in the Taizé ecumenical community, which was founded in 1940 at the height of World War Two by Brother Roger, as a way to spread Christian love.
