(Bratislava) – The activities and events that are being organized on the national level in the Czech Republic within the framework of celebrations for the Year of Mercy were the focus of attention of the Czech Bishops during their January plenary assembly held in the past few days. The Bishops spoke about the National Pilgrimage of Mercy to Cracow planned for 28 May, which will see the participation of several bishops and – hopefully – thousands of Moravian and Bohemian faithful. To mark the occasion, a special silver and brass medal made by sculptor Miroslav Kovarik was officially presented at the plenary session by Prof. Petr Pitha, initiator of the project. As he said, its main idea is to “draw people’s attention to both the spiritual and secular dimensions of mercy”. The topics of God’s mercy and of man’s concrete deeds of mercy towards neighbours will also be at the centre of preparations for World Youth Day 2016. The prelates have decided that this international event will be followed by the National Youth Day in Olomouc in 2017 under the motto “Don’t be afraid”, which will be inspired by the words of St. John Paul II, and will focus on various aspects of evangelization.