A light for contemporary Europe

Vladimir Ghika, a Latin-Catholic priest who died in prison, victim of the Communist regime’s persecution against Christians, along with many other Latin-Catholic, Greek-Catholic and Orthodox priests, will be proclaimed Blessed on August 31. Vladimir Ghika, member of the princely family, left the Orthodox to join the Latin-Catholic Church. He died at 80 in the prison of Jilava, near Bucharest, on May 16 1954, after a year of interrogations and torture, weakened and in a state of deep pain: he was punished for his faithfulness to Christ and the Church. He was a man of refined culture, renowned at international level. During his entire lifetime he placed the poor and the outcasts at the centre of his pastoral service (Cf. SIR Europe n.56, August 2, 2013). The beatification ceremony will be presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. Paolo Bustaffa and Cristina Grigore, correspondents of SIR Europe in Bucarest, met Fr Francisc Ungureanu, postulator of the cause of the martyr priest. In the Year of Faith could this beatification become a message to all European Christians, in addition to those of Bucharest? "The beatification ceremony is the apex of the Year of Faith, called by Benedict XVI, not only for the Catholics of Bucharest but for also for all Catholic Rumanians. Vladimir Ghika embodies a personality that crosses national and geographic borders. During his lifetime he traveled across Europe and worldwide: a presence that despite the Iron Curtain and his death did not fade out into oblivion. For Christians in Romania, just as for European Christians, this beatification is an example of Christian courage in spite of adversities. His Christian witness and his life can leave no one indifferent". The Latin-Catholic Church of Romania, along with other Christian Churches, was the object of the brutal persecutions carried out by the Communist regime until a few decades ago. What is left of this experience and what are the related cultural and social challenges? "The challenges faced by Christians in Romania, and by Catholics in particular, relate to the transition from the government’s repressive regime prior to 1990 to an epoch of freedom. In experiencing that condition, the peoples on this side of Europe wanted to erase from their memories the horrors of the past and thus rapidly incorporated a Western lifestyle, lacking a reasoning based on faith, which for over 40 years had been the target of the atheistic campaigns carried out by the regime. In other words, in the 1990s the criteria underlying a new, liberated style of living were missing. Christian Churches were thereby committed to lay down the non-negotiable values that act as the backbone of an entire people. In 1907, when modern Romania was being created, Vladimir Ghika spoke of the childhood diseases of a people comparable to those of a child. It’s a similar situation today, but the disease must be carefully treated or it could be mortal, with serious repercussions". To what extent does the martyrdom of Fr Ghika and the ongoing global persecutions against Christians meet the appeal of Pope Francis to bear Christian witness with courage and coherence? "Persecutions have set the pace of the life of the Church, and in this very realm the Church has grown stronger. Christian witnesses such as Vladimir Ghika, as states the Word, bear witness to a force that is imbued by the Holy Ghost. In fact, Jesus promised the support of the Holy Ghost in times of suffering for faith. The acts of first century martyrs speak to us of courage and joy: the new martyrs show us that Jesus’ promises can still be fulfilled and that the Holy Ghost leads the hearts of the faithful towards a strong and credible affirmation of faith". Will this beatification also serve to rekindle the dialogue between Christian Churches in Romania? "A few years ago the Orthodox Church published a book on Christian martyrs living under the Communist regime in Romania. It isn’t a liturgical book, in the form of the story of martyrdom. Rather, it focuses on bringing together people from all Christian confessions in Romania that have been killed for reasons related to their faith. Namely, to put into writing what we believe in: the Communion of Saints in Heaven. Let us hope that this communion may also act as a model for Christians of all Christian confessions. Ghika’s beatification – who had a recognized pacific spirit and was committed in the promotion of ecumenical activity – prompts us to seek dialogue in the unity of the disciples, for our Lord Jesus Christ".