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In 1948 the Communist regime approved a law stating that if the majority of the faithful of one parish decided to leave their Church and join another one, the temple would pass to the hands of the Church they would join. Greek-Catholics were forced to become Orthodox and rennounce Catholicism "oficially". This way most churches passed to the hands of the Orthodox Church.

After the fall of Communism, Greek Catholics have tried to recover their churches and temples. In some cases courts have ackowledged their rights but the Orthodox refuse to give them back the churches claiming that "the majority of the faithful are Orthodox". Sometimes, before a church is given by a court to the Greek Catholics, the Orthodox decide to demolish it first so that it would not be possible for the GC to recover that church.

Now, some neo-communist deputees in Romania's Parliament proposed a new law, that would "legalize" what happened in 1948 according to the principle of majority. This would mean that the Greek Catholics, being a minority, would not even have the right to ask for the devolution of their temples. It seems that the man behind this law is Bartolomeu Anania, the Orthodox Archbishop of Cluj who's known for his antipahy toward the Greek Catholic Church and Catholics in general.

I assure the admin and the moderators I have no thought to argue, not at all.

I just look to this word:


and to this kind of logic and argumentation


History, wounds, rocked hearts, non-love, from a side to the other side.

And it 'seems' that we call ourselves Christians and that in a few weeks we will celebrate the Resurrection of the crucified Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Forgive and forget.

Well, this thread started about someone wanting to remember something. For most (c. 90% in Romania), 1945 is as ancient as 1915 and beyond.

The central act of the Eucharist is the Anamnesis, when we efficaciously remember The Holy Pascha is the pre-eminently efficacious remembering of a specific historical event. And so it is. One of the great defects of modernist liturgies is that they seem to have forgotten what it is that they are supposed to remember.

Fr. Serge

I don't know if that is on point, but nonetheless well put.

Wrongs were done in the past. The bishops should still take the high road and return any ill gotten gains. There's no excuse for not doing this in my opinion. Two wrongs don't make a right.

All bishops?


I agree.

Any in the Romanian Synod who have a say in the issue at hand.

Which Romanian Synod or Synods are you speaking of?

Any updates on the situation in Romania?

There are very many trials about the churches given by the communists to the orthodox, there are churches demolished by the orthodox in order not to be given back.

The recent visit to the Vatican of romanian prime minister Emil Boc was a reason for the Holy See to underline the real situation of the catholics in Romania.The statements of the prime minister spoke only about the dialogue between greek-catholics and orthodox to solve the controversy but not about a law to give back the churches.

http://bucharest.usembassy.gov/US_Policy/2008_IRF_Ro.html