The rebirth of Crete

“I wished to communicate my anxieties to my friends so I will not be the only one to carry the burden of my desire, hence preventing its realization”. With these passionate words the bishop of Syros, Santorini and Crete Msgr. Francesco Papamanolis, President of the Greek Bishops’ Conference, introduced to SIR Europe the report on his recent pastoral visit in the island of Crete where the local Catholic Church, thanks to immigration, is showing signs of revival. However, pastoral and logistic problems due to a lack of resources and forces do still exist. I visited Crete, one of the three dioceses I am called to serve, for ten days at the end of October. I am always impressed by the works of God operating in this small local Church, regardless of our programs or pastoral commitment. 35 years ago, when Paul VI appointed me bishop, I undertook my visit to Crete in my capacities as the new shepherd. At the time the three parishes of Crete counted less than 100 Catholic faithful (some 60 in Canea, 3 Italian women in Rettimno, some 15 elderly faithful in Hiraklion). Many of them have died since. Some 20 are still living (15 in Chanià, 3 in Rettimno, and an 85-year-old woman in Hiraklion). What could have been humanly predicted in 1974, proved to be a sad reality. The Catholic Church would have disappeared from Crete if the Lord had not intervened. Looking at this reality today with a spirit of faith I see that the Church is still living. It is kept alive first of all by the many tourists that came to Crete (since 1965), by marriages with Catholic spouses, and by Greek students in European universities who along with their degree returned to their homelands (Greece/Crete) with their Catholic wives. The grow in the number of faithful led the Catholic Church to experience a vitality to which the priests in Crete gave special relevance with the pastoral care of tourism. The major radical change commenced in 1990.The fall of Communism in East European countries, Greece’s EU adhesion, instability in the Middle East (especially in Lebanon and in Iraq), the government’s new policy facilitating Asian – Sri Lanka, Philippines – and African – notably from Nigeria and Ghana – citizens’ residence permit in Greece have brought us many brothers in faith. As an effect, Crete currently counts some 5000 Catholic faithful (Poles and Albanians in particular). With the coming of immigrants and refugees Catholic faithful increased by 700%: from 50.000 to 350.000, almost 20% of the overall population. Looking back in history I realize that these sudden changes also took place in the past. The Lord has his plans. It’s beautiful to be many of us and I thank God, but for me as a bishop this phenomenon is also the source of problems, concerns and fatigue. 35 years ago two priests were sufficient to provide religious service of few Catholics. There are four priests now but they’re not enough. Distances create the diaspora. Sunday Mass used to be celebrated only in Chaniá and in Hiraklion. Now every Saturday and Sunday it is celebrated in Chaniá, Rettimno, Hiraklion, Aghios Nikolaos, Ierápetra (where some 1000 Catholic live – 700 Albanians and 300 from different nationalities). Since we have neither a church nor a room we rent a store that we set up for our reunions and to celebrate Mass (a 1000 euro rent is paid each month). We need places of worship and for pastoral care. We don’t have enough priests or prepared lay faithful since most of them are simple workers who arrived only recently. The situation we live in is difficult for me as a bishop, since we don’t have the means to address it. We have undertaken talks with the priests living in Crete to address together the new situation in the island. Everything must be organized from scrap. These immigrants are part of our local Church, they are faithful who speak different languages. They are united by the faith in Christ, but they are separated by language diversity. In what language ought we celebrate? In which language ought we speak? Most of our faithful are young people. Past Sunday as I celebrated in Hiraklion I looked for faithful with white hair. Out of 200 faithful there was only one person with white hair and two with grey hair. The remaining all had black hair. There are young couples with children that need Catechesis. Who will do take care of it, their parents perhaps? The Albanians, who constitute the majority, come from a country where for years it was forbidden to nominate and pray to God. Our faithful live in the midst of their Orthodox brothers not to be absorbed by Orthodoxy but rather in order to pose with their presence, the problem of the separation of Christians, to spread word on the Catholic Church while looking forward to the fulfillment of longed-for Christian unity. The Catholic Church in Greece doesn’t aim at uniting by “conversion”. She aims at “uniting” all the brothers in Jesus Christ.Francesco Papamanolis