Two steps towards dialogue

A mixed government commission that brings together Catholics and Orthodox to examine the possibility of recognising the juridical personality of the Catholic Church in Greece and a joint message signed for the first time, on New Year’s Day, by the two Orthodox and Catholic bishops of the island of Syros: these are, according to Archbishop NIKOLAUS FOSCOLOS of Athens and Apostolic Administrator of Rhodes, some recent steps forward in collaboration between the Greek Orthodox Church – which represents 95% of the faithful out of the 11 million inhabitants of Greece – and the almost “invisible” Catholic minority (0.5%), officially 50,000 faithful of Greek nationality, but with the addition of Catholic immigrants (especially Poles, Philippinos, Iraqis, Albanians and Ukrainians) that figure is boosted to approximately 350,000. In Athens – where 40% of the Greek population live – there are some 25,000 Greek Catholics and a similar number of foreign Catholics. For them there are 11 territorial parishes of Latin rite, as well as one parish of Byzantine and one of Armenian rite, plus various other parishes and chaplaincies for the many foreign communities and religious communities. Caritas Hellas took part, together with other Caritas agencies in other European countries (France, Italy, the Balkans…), in the European Social Forum held in Athens from 4 to 7 May. The over 20,000 participants took part in some 600 events proposed by social associations and movements to spread the message that “another Europe is possible” in terms of peace, the fight against poverty and for human rights. We met Archbishop Foscolos at the archbishop’s residence in Athens during the Social Forum. What is the situation of the Catholic minority in Greece? “With immigration the number of Catholics has greatly increased, but it is a presence for which we were not prepared because our structures were for 50,000 Greek Catholics. We have a need for priests but there is a crisis of vocations; we are hoping in the presence of foreigners. In Greece there is religious tolerance rather than religious freedom in the Western sense of the term. Even though many of us are Greeks, the authorities consider us as foreigners and this creates difficulties. Here religion coincides with nationality. I hope that this mentality may sooner or later disappear, but it still exists among many people in government. Once they even asked us whether we needed an interpreter!”. What are the greatest difficulties, also in relation with the Orthodox? “It’s difficult for outsiders to grasp that here two different mentalities co-exist. While the West uses rational categories, the East thinks with the heart. Greece is like a two-headed eagle with one head turned to the East and one to the West. The Orthodox Church does all it can to turn the head to the East. There is no separation between Church and State. Each bishop swears an oath of office before the institutional authorities, and priests receive the same salary as civil servants from the government. This creates a form of legitimation. We Catholics, on the contrary, have the problem of legal recognition by the State. For example, ecclesiastical properties are not recognized, I myself am not recognized by the government. To build a new church we have to ask for the permission of the local Orthodox bishop. To be able to open a chapel in the area of the old airport of Athens I had to wait three years before obtaining a permit. It’s not even possible to obtain funding from the European Union due to the lack of government recognition. So we support ourselves solely by donations and offerings from the faithful”. What progress have you made in dialogue? “Last year the government set up a mixed commission in which 4 Catholics participate to find a solution to this problem of legal recognition. It is due to meet for the first time next week. Meanwhile, in the island of Syros, the Orthodox bishop, who is very open-minded, signed a joint message with the Catholic bishop on New Year’s Day. Collaboration there is very close”. But what about the official level? Was not John Paul II’s visit of some help? “The visit of John Paul II five years ago gave an impetus but it’s not easy to change. Before Catholics were seen as enemies, but thanks to the Pope they have come to be considered as brothers. Patriarch Seraphim, who’s now dead, often said to me: ‘Why can’t I visit you to have coffee together?’. Sometimes we meet his successors at receptions; we greet each other cordially; but officially there is no meeting between the two Churches. But I continue to hope that a form of cooperation between Orthodox and Catholics will eventually be achieved, because the need to work together is clear, especially on questions of social and pastoral nature, such as mixed marriages, ever more numerous due to growing immigration. The Orthodox do not bless a marriage between two spouses of different confessions. Now the solution is civil marriage, which previously did not exist. It would be great if we could tackle this and other questions together”.