“I wish to thank the Holy Father for the interest he takes in the efforts being made by the local Churches in Albania in these years of revival and putting down fresh roots in the country. The reorganization of the Albanian dioceses decided by John Paul II means, on the one hand, the continuation of a process of presence and apostolate and, on the other, the basis on which to depart for a better pastoral service to the faithful of the local Catholic community and Albanian society as a whole”. So said Archbishop Angelo Massafra of Scutari, president of the Albanian Episcopal Conference, in a statement to SIR, after the news announced by the Press Room of the Holy See of the changes decided by the Pope with regard to the ecclesiastical organization in Albania. In particular the Pope has raised the archdiocese of Tirana-Durazzo to a metropolitan see, inverting its current name Durazzo-Tirana, and subordinating to it the diocese of Rreshen and the apostolic administration of southern Albania. A second decision regarded the union of the diocese of Pult to the metropolitan archdiocese of Scutari, which will henceforth assume the name of Scutari-Pult, leaving the two dioceses of Lezhe and Sape as suffragan bishoprics of the same archdiocese. According to Msgr. Massafra, “after the long experience of Communism and after the first years of religious freedom, and bearing in mind the still serious social problems of the country, in particular mass movements of population, emigration and unemployment, especially among the young, a period of further commitment to the service of the country is now opening for the Catholic Church”. Meanwhile, the seat of the new Catholic University named after Mother Teresa was inaugurated in Tirana in recent days. Linked to the university hospital “Our Lady of Good Counsel”, the new university owes its foundation to a vow made by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace. Responsibility for the project was assumed by Cardinal Laghi, who has involved various institutions in the cultural and economic field.
