Letter of His Grace John Michael to the Diocese – 2009
To the clergy and faithful of the Romanian Catholic Diocese
Reverend and dear Fathers, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
There is a cloud gathering over Romania that threatens to unleash a storm upon our Church. A bill, originally introduced in the Romanian Parliament in 2007 and rejected by the Romanian Senate, has been resurrected and placed on the agenda of the House of Deputies where, if it passes, it will become law despite its rejection, not only by the Senate, but by the former government of Prime Minister Tariceanu and every parliamentary commission that studied it.
This bill, PL 368/2007, is entitled, "An act regarding judicial measures concerning the assets belonging to the Orthodox and Greek-Catholic religious communities in Romania." The purpose of this legislation is to prevent our Church from ever recovering real and other property: churches, monasteries, cemeteries, lands, artworks, furnishings, etc., "legally" stolen by the communist government of Romania in 1948 as part of its program of extermination carried out against our Church. This property has been in the hands of the Romanian Orthodox Church since that time and, apart from the return—often through the courts—of perhaps 100-200 churches, remains in those hands. Since our Church’s liberation in 1989, our congregations have met for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in cemeteries, classrooms, cultural centers, and other places not conducive to our way of worship.
The issue of the return of our Church’s property confiscated by the communists is a complex and delicate one, particularly as it affects the relationship between our Church and the Romanian Orthodox Church. However, the legal and moral principles involved are not complex at all. They are as simple as the Seventh Commandment: "Thou shalt not steal." What has been unjustly taken by the state must be returned to its owner by the state in order to restore justice. However, our bishops in Romania have always wanted to temper justice with mercy—they have not been asking for the return of churches in villages where there are no longer Greek-Catholics. (Communist persecution reduced the number of our faithful from 2.5 million before 1948 to 200-250,000 today.)
Where problems have arisen locally in the relationship with the Orthodox Church in its clergy and faithful, this has been the result of an unwillingness, for instance, to return a church where there are two churches, one of which belonged to our Church prior to 1948. Court judgments returning properties are not enforced by local politicians and police. In some cases the buildings remain locked and unused. I have heard that in some cases, both buildings are used—by the same community—on alternate weekends. In some cases, our buildings have been demolished. Through it all, however, we do not have any quarrel with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, who are also victims of communist repression and who also have the right to freedom of worship and buildings in which to offer praise to the one God of all.
What is needed is the strong application of justice—not political expediency—on the part of the Romanian government, and an even stronger application of mutual respect and Christian love on the part of both churches in Romania. Unfortunately, the proposed legislation attempts to short-circuit this very difficult, but very worthwhile, process in favor of the quick "solution" of legislative fiat.
Our Church opposes the passage of this bill. I have written the President of Romania, Traian Basescu, and Romania’s Prime Minister, Emil Boc, to express my profound disappointment and opposition to the measure. I will continue to contact other people around the world who may be of influence in preventing this bill from passing, and I hope to be able to provide the means and the help for you to do the same.
Right now, however, what I am asking for from you is that you take up the two great weapons of our Christian armory, prayer and penance.
His Beatitude, Archbishop Lucian, has proclaimed a day of strict fasting and prayer in all parishes of the Archdiocese of Alba Iulia-Fagaras. It is vital that we show him and our brother and sister Greek-Catholics our solidarity by joining with them on that day. Therefore, I am proclaiming Wednesday, February 11, as a day of strict fast and special prayer throughout the diocese, in each and every parish. I ask all our faithful to make this sacrifice for our cause, and to go to the church you are blessed to have free and unhindered use of in order to pray on that day that God’s will be done in Romania—and injustice is not God’s will. But loving one’s enemies is God’s will, so it is important that we pray not only that an unjust law not be passed, but also that our suffering faithful in Romania endure their trials without becoming embittered or turning to hate or, God forbid, violence.
My suggestion is that each parish pray the Office of Consolation of the Mother of God, also known as the Paraklisis Service (Paraclis), however what precisely will done in each parish I leave up to each pastor and the circumstances of his parish.
If you cannot come to church that day, please set aside at least five minutes of your time to pray along with us. We are one body in Christ, especially in the solidarity of prayer. May the God of peace, Who in His Son has gathered the world to himself, send His Holy Spirit of love and reconciliation to redeem the trying times in which our beloved Church now finds itself. May the Most Holy Mother of God extend her merciful arms upon us all and give us her maternal protection.
Your brother in the Lord Jesus,
(Most Reverend) John Michael Botean
A sinner, bishop
This letter is to be read at all Divine Liturgies in all the churches of the Eparchy on the weekend of Sunday, February 8, 2009.
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