“There were 2030 Greek-Catholic churches in Romania in 1948, before the Communist oppression. Now there are only 405, including those under construction”, pointed out the Bishop of Cluj-Gherla (Kolozsvár-Szamosújvár), Florentin Crihalmenau, in addressing the conference of the Reunion of Charities of Aid to the Oriental Churches (ROACA) recently held in the Vatican. “The question of buildings that are our property – said the bishop – is very urgent”, not least because “124 of our local communities currently have churches in the process of being built”. The theme of the ROACA conference was the current situation of the Greek-Catholic Church in Romania, a country in a phase of development and change. “It’s a climate suitable for reinforcing our community”, commented Bishop Crihalmenau in a briefing to Vatican Radio, “and therefore we hope for ROACA’s help not only in church construction, but also in theological formation”. Commenting on Romania’s EU accession at the start of the year, he added: “this will involve changes especially in the life of the young, to whose religious education we will have to make an even greater commitment than before”. The Romanian Greek-Catholic Church joined the Roman Church in 1697, while maintaining the Byzantine rite. Today the community comprises some 738,000 members.
