The meeting of Romanian and Hungarian bishops Ecclesial life, social commitments, property restitution along with the pastoral care of ethnic minorities were the themes addressed by Hungarian and Romanian bishops who came together for the first time in Budapest past September 15-16, in the premises of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference. The meeting was described as having been very productive and the bishops declared that similar initiatives would continue in the future. Archbishop Ioan Robu, President of Romania’s Bishops Conference in Bucharest, said the meeting was a “premiére”. “It’s a first step – the archbishop affirmed – meetings such as this enable us to learn more about one another while promoting exchange of information”. The Romanian Bishops Conference was represented in Budapest by archbishop Robu, bishop Petru Gherghel from Iasi, bishop Martin Roos from Timisoara and archbishop György Jakubinyi from Alba Iulia. According to the latest population census (2002), Hungarian Catholics account for 57% of the overall Catholic population of Romania. In the dioceses of Bucharest, Iasi and Timisoara, Hungarian Catholics are a minority, while in the archdiocese of Alba Iulia, and in dioceses of Satu Mare and Oradea, Hungarian Catholics constitute the majority. In order to bring the Romanian Church closer to that of Hungary, two priests were sent to Budapest – one from the Archdiocese of Bucharest and the other from the diocese of Iasi – they will be in charge of pastoral care in a number of parishes in the area of Budapest while at the same time deepening their theological formation. The youth express solidarity to children-victims of floods We mustn’t always wait for help from the outside or from abroad, and solidarity has no age. This is what the fourteen youth of the “Blessed Jeremiah of Valacchia” parish in Bacau (part of the diocese of Iasi) must have thought when they decided to give a gift to the children of Schineni on their first day of school (September 15). The youth collected school material in two supermarkets. In three days they put together a large number of exercise books, pens, felt-pens, pencils and schoolbags. On September 15th, the youth, accompanied by the parish priests, brought the scholastic materials to the pupils of Schineni, who greatly appreciated the presents. “It was a unique experience to me. These children truly needed my help, the help of us all”, declared one of the young people involved in the solidarity initiative. Schineni is a small town in the district of Bacau, which was severely devastated by the flood which hit the area in July, causing over 400 houses to be flooded and torn down. A number of families are still living at their relatives’ homes or in the encampments set up by the authorities.A visit to the Romanian community in Milan “Romanians living in Italy must feel that the Romanian Church is close to them”, bishop Petru Gherghel told SIR Europe during his pastoral visit in Milan. The Romanian bishop met the reponsibles for pastoral care in the Romanian Catholic communities of Milan, along with Milan’s migration authorities. Meetings also took place with Cardinal Tettamanzi and with the dignitaries in charge of pastoral care in the Romanian Orthodox Catholic communities in the area of Milan. In the coming days Msgr. Gherghel will be attending the celebrations of the Patronal festival in Cesano Boscone (Milan), whose program envisages an “encounter with Romania”. “The choice of meeting Romania – explained Msgr. Franco Agnesi, parish priest in Cesano Boscone – is a call to overcome prejudice and closures with courage and intelligence and discover the cultural and religious riches pertaining to this Country”. The patronal celebrations will be attended by Orthodox priest Traian Valdman, from the Romanian Orthodox patriarchate in Bucharest, and by father Maricel Mititelu, responsible for the pastoral care of Romanian Catholics in the province of Milan, among others. The Romanian Catholic community of Milan is the second largest in Italy after that of Trent.
