The flame of freedom

Some 5-600 people attended the first public Mass of the post-Communist era in the Catholic cemetery of Scutari, Albania, on November 4 1990. With that gesture they “challenged” the regime that 23 years earlier, in 1967, had declared Albania an “Atheist State”, banning all public and private acts of worship. By 1990 the regime had collapsed but the Constitution that ruled the ban on such form of public gathering was still in force. The police surrounded the cemetery – sadly famed for being the site where priests and lay faithful had been shot dead by members of the Communist regime – but it did not intervene. Some days later, on November 11, Mass was celebrated once more. This time thousands of people attended, including Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims. The mosque reopened on November 16th. On the twentieth anniversary of the “recovery of the light” of faith SIR Europe interviewed Msgr. Angelo Massafra, archbishop of Scutari-Pult, a diocese that counts approximately 150 thousand Catholics. Twenty years since the first “Public Mass”. How is the event being celebrated in Scutari? “Public religious ceremonies had been prohibited in 1967, 23 years earlier. Understanding this fact is critical to the understanding of the significance of the Mass which priests and lay faithful officiated in the cemetery of Scutari on November 4 1990. After a long period of dehumanizing Communism there finally was a new atmosphere. The dictator had died five years before, the Wall of Berlin had been torn down shortly before then… However, it was widely feared that the occasion would be sought to arrest the Mass attendants who ‘dared’ challenge the authorities. It didn’t happen. In fact, the Mass was a great success. The event was memorialized on the afternoon of November third with a concert along with historical and cultural public recollections. On the 4th we celebrated Mass and inaugurated a photo exhibition regarding the facts of twenty years ago”. Do you expect also Orthodox and Muslims to attend the initiatives? “We organize these events together. We invited our Orthodox and Muslim brothers to attend these celebrations, just like they are preparing for the initiatives of the 16th, to which we have been invited, and which we will attend. Inter-faith relations in Scutari are good”.Scutari paved the way for the recovery of faith in Albania’s public realm. How did the religious presence in the country change over the past twenty years? “We drew up a manifesto that we placed in front of the cathedral, which says: ‘Twenty years of religious freedom’. These have truly been years of religious freedom, which rejuvenated religious faith after it had been oppressed and concealed. Indeed, faith was never eliminated. Today our Catholic Church is more beautiful than ever, owing to the blood of Christ and to that of our martyrs. The canonization process of 40 of them will end next December 8, after 8 years of hard work. Crowds of people attend each public event. The flame of freedom they had within has come to the fore, and this vitality is self-evident for anyone. But difficulties and problems undermining religious sentiment remain, notably consumerism, the yearning to become rich, and extreme poverty. As a Church we are committed to evangelisation, and to placing the theological foundations of this enthusiasm”.Religious freedom has been recovered after twenty years. How are problems like secularization – which afflict Western Europe – perceived in Albania? “At the beginning it was hard to get back on track. Migration has caused serious problems, due to the fact that families went abroad and broke apart, and thus were dispersed all over the world. Communism stripped religion of its theological and evangelical roots. Faith did remain, but it needs to be nourished, the foundations need to be reinstated, which is what we’re doing. It’s significant that many young people who leave the Country – headed to Italy or elsewhere – continue living their religious dimension as spiritual animators and catechists. It’s a consolation, although it is a shame that our parishes loose the contributions that could support ecclesial life in Albania”. What is the current state of the migrant dimension of Albania? “After the crisis in the Western world, we have been experiencing a return. It was confirmed to me a few days ago by our Catholic schools, which are registering the return of the offspring of migrants who lost their jobs abroad or realized that all considered they prefer living in Albania. We are sorry for all those who return to Albania because they lost their jobs. However, if after having had a different experience abroad they now yearn to help our Church, our State, our local authorities which need new forces and energies, bringing values that they acquired during the migration years, the return becomes a source of richness for the population and for the Country as a whole”.