Minority Churches

Minority Churches. In some East-European countries Catholics represent only 1% of the overall population. But from the reports presented in Chisnau, in the framework of the annual CCEE meeting of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of South-East Europe, emerges the image of a living Church, that participates in the social and political life of the Country and which is present in the heart of marginal and conflict situations that demand a presence rooted in the Gospel. Republic of Moldova. “Catholics – said Msgr. Cesare Lodeserto on behalf of Msgr. Anton Cosa, bishop of the diocese of Chisnau – are a minority. We represent less than 1% of the overall population. But the Catholic movement, namely everything which the Church, with the daily work of her pastoral structures and her social-assistance centers reverberates and enables this minority to grow and be an opinion-making reality, which inspires valuable social action initiatives and is present in those areas where Catholic commitment is needed”. The International bishops’ Conference of SS. Cyril and Methodius brings togethers the Catholics of Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro. Apart from Macedonia – where 2/3 of the population is orthodox and 1/3 is Muslim these are all countries with an orthodox majority. “Being on the border between the East and the West – Msgr. Stanislav Hocevar, Metropolitan archbishop of Belgrade, told SIR Europe – this mix of religions and nationalities doesn’t facilitate but rather complicates the reconciliation, cooperation and planning processes. Moreover, given the ongoing crisis in the economy, radicalisms speak out”. Romania. In compliance with the Constitution of Romania and with Act 489, the Catholic Church of Romania has the same rights of other officially recognized faiths. “Nonethless – said the archbishop of Bucharest Msgr. Ioan Robu – it must be said that the Catholic Church often addresses situations where these rights are not being respected and even violated by those who are tasked with their enforcement”. The archbishop refers to the question of the restitution of the property confiscated by the State during Communist rule and of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Bucharest, where an architectural monstrosity that ruins the surrounding environment was built at only 8 meters’ distance, “endangering not only the Cathedral but also the archbishopric”. Albania. Albania has a population of 3.2 million, 15-18% of whom are Catholic (approximately 520 thousand). Even though it is a minority, “the Catholic Church provides an enormous contribution to the Country’s spiritual, intellectual and social recovery after the devastations of Albania under Communist dictatorship, which tore down buildings and human values”, said Msgr. Lucjan Avgustini, bishop of Sapa. The Church runs kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, professional educational institutions and a University “Albania – concluded Msgr. Avgustini – has a wonderful richness which consists in the coexistence of Christians, Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims”. “For this, Albania can become a model of inter-religious coexistence for other countries”. Bulgaria. The Catholic Church in Bulgaria represents 1% of the overall population. “Even though ours is a small Church – said Msgr. Christo Proykov, President of the Bishops’ Conference – it enjoys moral authority among the population”. A living Church with religious and priestly vocations, 80 priests and 100 nuns, a newspaper “Istina-Veritas”, magazines and a radio-tv on the Internet. The Catholic Church also takes part in the political life of the Country, taking position in the public sphere. For example, as relates to legislation on de facto unions, for the first time in Bulgaria all religions – Catholics, Orthodox, Evangelicals, Armenians, Muslims and Jews – were united. “We have written a declaration against this law, we spoke together at radio and tv programs, took part in a round table at the parliament voicing the same claims”. Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the last war (1992-’95), several dozens of priests and religious were killed. Thousands of Catholics lost their lives and almost half of the population was chased away from home and forced to emigrate. Many of them were Catholics. “The first problem experienced by our particular Church – said Cardinal Vinko Puljic, archbishop of Sarajevo – is that many Catholics were chased away and most of them don’t return because of the ongoing economic and political situation”. “It isn’t easy to heal the wounds of the war. Buildings can be erected rapidly, while to heal the wounds of the soul it takes much longer”. Turkey. The European Commission tasked with valuing the progress of Turkey in view of EU adhesion remarked, “As relates to the rights of minorities the situation is unchanged”. “There’s a sort of impermeability – says Msgr. Luigi Padovese – which apart from the beautiful words doesn’t change the situation by an inch. Indeed the basic problem is religious freedom and the juridical recognition of the Church, as the Pope recalled in the audience to the new Turkish ambassador on January 7″.