There’s a new desire ” “

A Church that meets for the rosary even in courtyards or in the apartments of the squalid tower blocks of Bucharest, the enormous grey buildings built by the dictator Ceausescu. A Church that fills the churches with the faithful on Sundays and animates with simple faith the many manifestations of popular devotion. A Church expressed by the litanies whispered by people alone before the statues of saints or the mass participation in religious festivities, enlivened by the scattering of rose petals, then gathered by the women as soon as the liturgy is over, since they bring good luck at home. These are just a few glimpses of the life of the Catholic Church in Romania, both that of the Greek-Catholic rite and that of the Latin rite. Altogether it’s a minority of some 1,500,000 faithful, with a small component of Catholic Armenians. In a country with an Orthodox majority, ecumenical dialogue sometimes experiences moments of difficulty on specific questions, but in the life of ordinary people the differences between the faiths are much attenuated. It is just in Romania, in the city of Sibiu, that the Third European Ecumenical Assembly is due to be held in 2007. A PEOPLE’S ECUMENISM. “There are many mixed marriages between Orthodox and Catholics that work very well – explains Msgr. CORNEL DAMIAN, auxiliary bishop of Bucharest, in a conversation with Sir -. In these families some festivities such as Easter are celebrated twice (since the Orthodox and Catholic dates differ). And many Orthodox faithful participate in the liturgical life of our churches, at times just to pray, at times also to receive the sacraments. There is a very strong practical ecumenism, and that’s why we hope that the Sibiu meeting will be a real people’s assembly”. Of course, unresolved questions are not lacking, such as the restitution of churches by the Orthodox to the Greek-Catholics, the bureaucracy that sometimes hinders full religious liberty, or the practice of burying the dead in confessional cemeteries with the result that in some areas priests do not accept those of other confessions. But the law on cults now before Parliament ought to provide a solution to many of these problems. “We hope to see it approved in the autumn”, adds Bishop Damian. PARTICIPATION IN THE FAITH. Participation in mass is very high in Bucharest: “Some 60-70% of the faithful – Damian explains –, but it’s not easy to involve the laity in the apostolate. Let’s not forget that until 15 years ago we were under a Communist regime; we are not used to a Church in which the laity play an important role. When I was a parish priest, if some layperson helped me, he/she always asked that his/her name be not mentioned, out of fear. Many people still have a mentality of this type, which is not easily changed. Today, however, a new desire to be active in the life of the Church is being born”. Also among the young: some 1000-1200 Romanian youngsters will be present at WYD in Cologne. DIFFICULT TO MAKE OUR VOICE HEARD. Now that the doors to the West have been opened, the Churches of Eastern Europe are also having to come to terms with the many questions of modernity: “Being a minority Church we have difficulty in taking a stance – admits Father CAZIMIR BUDAU, general secretary of the Romanian Episcopal Conference, which brings together 14 bishops of both rites, of which 11 diocesan and 3 auxiliary -. The Catholic Church of Romania makes no more than two/three public statements each year, on such issues as political elections, the family, and the tsunami. Since we are few in number, it’s not easy to make the voice of Catholics heard”. The person responsible for maintaining contacts with the secular media is Father FRANCISC UNGUREANU, director of the Centre of Social Communication of the archdiocese of Bucharest: the Centre publishes a monthly – Actualitatea crestina (Christian News) – which reports on the life of the community. It also promotes other media coverage, such as videos, photos and internet sites. Those who work for it do so “with self-sacrifice, either part time or as volunteers”, explains Ungureanu, who is also involved in an agency that helps unemployed Catholics to find work. SOCIAL EMERGENCIES. Romania is still a very poor country, as shown by the high unemployment, mass emigration (over a million Romanians are now living abroad) and the pitifully low wages: no more than 120 euros per month for a clerical or blue-collar worker (4 million declared workers, and over 2 million working on the black market without social protection) and as little as 30 euros per month for the 6 million pensioners, not even enough to cover their heating bills. The Orthodox Church at the social level does little “since it does not have a tradition similar to that of social Christianity”, says the Orthodox historian STEFAN DELUREANU. The Catholic Church does what it can, helped by the many religious congregations and movements that have arrived in Romania from other countries – Carmelites, Salesians, Don Orione, Sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, etc – and that are active in many ambitious social projects. The local Church helps with small projects aimed at the elderly, gipsies (10% of the population, extremely poor and discriminated against) and street children or those who leave orphanages, one of the great social emergencies of the country.