Romanian Catholics Turn to EU Courts

by Christopher A. Ferrara

       Fed up with the "ecumenical dialogue" that goes nowhere and produces nothing, the Catholics of Romania have taken their case for return of stolen Catholic Church properties to the European Union, which Romania is set to join.

        On March 16, 2004 CNA news service reported that "Bishop Virgil Bercea of Oradea, Romania, is asking local authorities to demand that the federal government return properties belonging to the Catholic Church that were confiscated during decades of Communism." The Bishop complained that "Although Communism collapsed 14 years ago, and although we have followed all of the requirements to recover our property, the Romanian state is not the least concerned with resolving the problem."

        The Bishop’s letter to EU officials further protests that "Our Church continues to face pressure and discrimination in administrative matters both at the state and local levels. We suffer intimidation, violence and injustice." And this is occurring even though the Catholic Church in Romania was granted "legal status" in 1990, after the "fall of communism" in Romania. Despite this "legal status," the Catholic Church in Romania "continues to endure constant coercion."

        And not just from the Romanian government, but also from its puppet, the Orthodox Church. CNA notes that according to a report in "El Semanal Digital," the Catholic Church "is also under pressure from the Orthodox. In Romania, as well as in other Eastern European countries that were behind the Iron Curtain, religious resurgence has been met with distrust by those who fear it might endanger the country’s Orthodox identity."

        In other words, throughout the "former Soviet Union" there is a uniform policy of oppression of the Catholic Church by the government and the Orthodox. But how could this uniform policy exist if, as the Fatima revisionists tell us, the "former Soviet Union" is no longer a Soviet Union but rather a region miraculously transformed into a collection of "democracies" by the "consecration of Russia" in 1984?

        Meanwhile, in "formerly" communist Romania, "the confiscated Church properties mentioned by Bishop Bercea are under State control. Nevertheless, they are currently being occupied by Orthodox communities." That is, the situation of the Catholic Church in Romania remains essentially unchanged from what it was before the "fall of communism." Indeed, the Catholics of Romania are still unable to recover the Church property seized by Josef Stalin.

        Yet, as Vladimir Putin tightens his grip on Russia and the "former Soviet republics" whose policies are in lockstep with his, the Fatima revisionists continue to insist that there is no longer any need for the consecration of Russia. It is they, along with the Putin regime, who are the oppressors of the Catholic Church in Eastern Europe.