Bishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc, President of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, visited the Czech community of Bela Crkva, in Serbia, between 24 and 25 March. He met the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, and participated in the celebrations marking the 2nd centenary of the foundation of the local parish church. Some Orthodox priests were also present. Msgr. Graubner praised the vitality of the Catholic community of Bela Crkva, in spite of the difficult situations of life for the Serb community in the parish: “Most people are very poor, since some 80% are without work and those who do work earn only around 100 euros per month. The local priest is financed by the parishioners themselves and for this reason lives in conditions of extreme poverty. Czech associations supported by the Czech Embassy work in the villages. The link between Catholicism and Czech national identity should be mentioned, as well as the great openness to other nationalities and to the Orthodox”, said Graubner. He concluded as follows: “I was often reminded of the words of St. Paul in recalling the poor of the Church of Jerusalem”.
