“We don’t ask for privileges but for real religious freedom as promised in the Constitution. Today the Greek Catholic Church is living in a situation of religious toleration which is not the same thing”. That is what the Catholic archbishop of Athens and president of the Greek Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Nikolaos Foskolos, is asking of the candidates in the forthcoming general elections, to be held in Greece on 7 March. “I ask the candidates Bishop Foskolos told SIR to abolish the laws of 1939 which require among other things the permission of the local Orthodox bishop for the construction of any new Catholic church. I would like to insist, moreover, on the legal recognition of the Catholic Church. Let us not forget that Greek Catholics are forced to suffer religious discrimination in various forms, something that is officially denied both by the State and by the Orthodox Church. Although religious faith is no longer specified on the new identity cards, and for the State this problem seems closed, for the Orthodox Church and for some exponents of New Democracy, on the other hand, it still remains open and, in the event of their victory in the elections, they intend to re-open the question. I think, however, that in the framework of united Europe, such a request cannot find any acceptance”. “We hope he concludes that whatever the next government may be, the fundamental rights of our Church will be respected. But there must be a real political will”.
