FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAYJuly 21-23, 2000 volume 11, no. 124
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NEWS for Friday-Saturday-Sunday, July 21-23, 2000 VATICAN CITY, JULY 20 (ZENIT.org)
The history of Romania's
Eastern Rite Catholics (Uniates) is summarized by 300 years of
difficulties, which at times ended in martyrdom, because of their
fidelity to the Pope. John Paul II sent a message to Romanian
Uniates on the third centenary of their full communion with Rome,
just over a year after his visit to Bucharest, the first time a
Roman Pontiff had set foot in a country of Orthodox majority.
Latin Christianity arrived in Romania in the 3rd century, while
the Byzantine rite was adopted at the beginning of the 8th
century. At the time of the Eastern schism of 1054, Romanian
Christians were included in the Orthodox Churches. However, in
Transylvania there was a movement of Christian communities that
sought to heal the division with Rome; it was successful in 1700.
Respecting Oriental Christian traditions, the Pontiff allowed
Romanian Catholics to retain their customs and tradition. In
fact, their liturgy is similar to the Orthodox. Moreover, some of
these Catholic priests, like the Orthodox, can marry. Romania: Bridge of DialogueIn his letter, John Paul II suggests that the Romanians become the bridge of dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox. Although they are a Latin people, as the name Romania itself suggests, "they have been open to the treasures of the Byzantine faith and culture. Despite the wound of division, the Greek-Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Rumania share this inheritance. The passion for the unity desired by Christ beats forever in the hearts of the sons and daughters of this ancient Church.""My immediate predecessors, beginning with John XXIII of venerated memory, multiplied their efforts in favor of ecumenical reconciliation, particularly with the Orthodox Churches. Under the merciful gaze of the Lord, the Church remembers her past, acknowledges the faults of her children, and confesses their lack of love for their brothers and sisters in Christ and, as a result, asks for forgiveness and forgives, in the hope of re-establishing full unity among Christians," the Pope states in his message. "The attempt to find full communion is inevitably conditioned by the historical context, the political situation, and the dominant mentality of each age. After a change in circumstance, the present calls for a search for unity in a broader ecumenical horizon," the Pope explained. Therefore, John Paul II states: "Just as I have encouraged the process of revision of the modes of exercise of the Petrine service in the interior of Christian ecumenism, with exception made of exigencies deriving from the will of Christ, so also in the new context do I exhort an updating and profound study of the specific vocation of the Oriental Churches in communion with Rome, requesting the contribution of study and reflection of all the Churches." Fidelity to the Point of MartyrdomIn his letter, the Holy Father acknowledges the fidelity of Romanian Byzantine Catholics, demonstrated in the course of history but, in particular, he praises their heroism. He recalled "the second half of the 20th century, the period of Communist totalitarianism, when your Church was forced to endure a very harsh trial, justly meriting the title 'Church of Confessors and Martyrs.'" In light of the persecutions suffered by the Church, John Paul II suggested to the Church in Romania that it update its martyrology "making the necessary efforts to enrich the documentation on the events that occurred, so that future generations may know their history."The Holy Father clarified that Catholics were not the only ones persecuted. The Orthodox Church and other religious confessions also suffered repression. ZE00072007
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