DOCSLIB.ORG

Justice and Repression in Communist Romania

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Justice and Repression in Communist Romania •holidays religious Justice and Repression in Communist Romania: takepart The Trial of Greek-Catholic Bishop Alexandru Rusu in 1957 · emned, '·order to Ioan-Marius Bucur ted the Babe§-Bolyai University,Cluj-Napoca Abstract In early July, 1957, the Greek-Catholic Bishop of Maramure§, Alexandru Rusu was sentenced, following a mock trial, to a lifetime heavy detention. Thus, in the year that has to be the 73rd anniversary, Bishop Rusu had to face, again, almost two years after its dischargein the"relative freedom", the rigors of communist prisons. This time,the prison experience of would be fatal, bishop Rusu ceasing from living on May 9, 1963. The present study, that take advantage of both recent history and unpublished archives sources, aims to reconstruct the internal and external círcumstances in which the trial occurred and the stakes of the judicial presentations. In the same time,the study seeks to argue the limits of destalinization in the middle of the sixth decade of the last century, illustrated by the violent answer of the Communist authorities to the movement of Greek-Catholics in the summer of 1956. Last but not least, the study reveals the importantrole of the SecretPolice (Securitatea)and communist justice in the constructionof the political guilt and repression. Keywords: Greek-Catholic Church, communism, repression, détente, communistjustice, trial. Rezumat Justiµe §i represiune in Romania comunista: procesul episcopului greco-catolic Alexandru Rusu din 1957. La inceputul lunii iulie 1957, episcopul grece><atolic de Maramure§, Alexandru Rusu era condamnat, in urma unui simulacru judiciar, la temnita,grea pe viata,. Ínanul incare avea sa implineasca73 de ani, episcopul Rusu avea sa infrunte, din nou, la mai bine de doi ani de la punereasa in„relativa libertate", rigorile inchisorilor comuniste.De aceasta data, experienta carcerala aveasa-i fiefatala, episcopul incetand din viata, la 9 mai 1963. Studiul de fatá,, care valorifica atat istoriografia recenta dit §i surse inedite provenind din arhivele romane§ti, urmare§te sa reconstituie circumstantele inteme §i exteme incare a avut loc,precum §i mizele acestei inscenarijudiciare. Ín egala masura, studiul cauta sa argumenteze Iimitele destinderii de la mijlocul deceniului§ase al secoluluitrecut, ilustrate §Í de raspunsul violent al autoritatilor comuniste la mi§carea petiponara a grece><atolicilor din vara anului 1956. Nu in ultimulrfuld, studiul releva rolul important al Securitapi §i justipei comuniste in construirea vinovapeipolitice §i administrarearepresiunii. Cuvinte cheie: Biserica Greco-Catolica, comunism, represiune, destindere limitata, justip.ecomunista, proces ln the morningof the 4th of February1955 in the yard of the infamous Sighet prison three old men dressed in priestly garments were helped by 114 Justice and Repression ín Communist Romania guardians to get into an automobile under the strict supervision of the feared prison warden, Vasile Ciolpan, character included in the communist persecutors' gallery. The three were Greek-Catholic bishops, Iuliu Hossu of Cluj-Gherla, Alexandru Rusu of Maramureg and Ioan Balan of Lugoj who survived the extermination regime from the prison situated in the north of the country. Other comrades of theirs, along with whom they entered the gates of that prison almost five years ago, had died during the period of the imprisonment1. However, in the cold morning in January, the bishops will be surprised by the prison warden's kindness: he personally checked the blankets laid in the automobile in order to keep away the cold, and in the end reached out his hand smiling2• This time, the bishops will go along the road to Bucharest in the opposite way. It was also a sign that the wind of the post Stalinist defrosting had begun to blow in communist Romania too. ln December 1956, being at the Orthodox monastery from Cocog where the communist authorities had fixed a compulsory residence as a punishment for the assumed role played in the petitioners' movement of the Greek-Catholics in the summer of that year3, thus separating him from the two bishops with whom he had been after the release from Sighet in the places which the authorities have indicated as place of residence, first at the Curtea de Arges monastery and, then, at Ciorogarla, bishop Alexandru Rusu reflected upon the episode and events that took place in the last one and a half year. Everything he had done from the moment he had been given "a relative freedom",from the 2nd February 1955 and until his transfer to Cocog monastery, "has beenconcemed exclusively with my right and my duty to help the Greek-Catholic believers to validate their liberty of consciousness and theirfreedom to practice their cult", thebishop will write later, under other circumstances4• Moreover, all his actions, similar with the 1 The bishop of Oradea Valeriu T. Frenpu (the 11th of July 1952), the bishop Ioan Suciu (the 27th of June 1973), the bishop Tit Llviu Chinezu who had beenordained secretly in December 1949 (the 15th of January 1955). The bishop Vasile Aftenie deceased in the hospital of the Vacare§tiprison, on the l()thof May 1950, because of the brutalitiessuffered during the investigationof the Ministryof Jntemal Affairs. 2 The episode is depicted by the bishop, promoted among the cardinals by pope Paul the 6th, Iuliu Hossu in his memoirs, Credinfa noastra este viafa noastra, Cluj­ Napoca, Viata Crel?tina,2003, pp. 350-351, 357, 363. 3 Through the decision of the Ministryof InternalAffairs no. 6467 /14 August 1956 bishop Rusu was set a mandatory residence for 60 months at the Cocoi? monastery. See the Archives of the National Council for the Study of the Former Security's Archives, (ACNSAS), Fund P 13277, vol. 2, f. 1-5. The bishop was transferred at the new locationon the13 th of August; see Iuliu Hossu, op.dt., p. 438. 4 The Decree no. 358/lst December 1948 for the settlement of the situation of the former Greek-Catholic cult penalized legally "the self-destruction" of the Greek- Ioan-Marius Bucur 115 ones of the other two bishops, were recognized in the memoir he sent on the 8th of December, that year, to the Central Committee of the Romanian Working Party5• However, at the end of the same month, following an order received from the Ministry of Intemal Affairs (MAI), the 3rd Direction of Security, bishop Rusu was arrested by the Galap./MAI Regional Direction. At the request of Cluj Regional Direction he was transferredfrom Galap.for the continuation of the investigation and he was sent to court "for participatingin hostile activitiesduring the eventsfrom the P.R. Hungary"6• What exactly was hiding behind those imprecise but very serious accusations through the association with the events that happened in the fall of 1956 rnthe neighbouring communist country,the bishop will understand during the investigation to which he was subjected to after the transfer in the city situated on Some§ul Mic's banks7• An investigation which extended over a period of more than two months, completed with his referring to court alongside other 12 persons, priests and believers and his conviction. ln what the trial and the conviction of Alexandru Rusu are concemed, in 1957, older or more recent historiography, as well as the memorial literature essentially states the following: in December 1956, the bishop was transferred (not from Coco§ monastery, as it was believed, but from the Securitate from Galap., as we have mentioned earlier) to the Securitate from Cluj, convicted together with other Greek-Catholic priests from Cluj or from the surroundings, involved in the petitioners' movement of the Greek-Catholic clergy and believers from the summer of that year because he had elaborated and addressed several memoirs to the autorities distributed also to the intemational public opinion, and because he had sent Catholic Churchthrough "the return" of the clergy and the believersto the Romanian Orthodox Church. For the communist authorities those who remained "faithful to Rome", after December1948, they were considered to beoutside the law, thenotion of "clandestine" associated with the Church as well as with the bishops, priests and believershad negative politicalconnotations and implied a transgressionof thelaw. 5 ACNSAS, Fund P 13278 vol. 6, f. 8. 6 ACNSAS, Fund P 13277,vol. 2, f. 14. 7 This wasn't the bishop's first experience of this type. ln 1948 it was attempted to involve him in a trial connected to the illegal trafficking with currency, the investigation being initiatedby the Prosecutor's Officeof the Court fromSatu Mare. The file was submitted to the Court fromOradea at the end of September. However, the trialhad many delays becausefrom the file there didn't result "enough evidence for him to get well deserved punishment", as it was mentioned in a report of the Securitate. The investigation of bishop Rusu betweenJanuary and May 1950 at the General Directionof the Securitatedidn't offer enough incriminatingevidence so his involvement in this trial was dropped. See the report from the 18th of May 1950, in ACNSAS, Fund P 13277, vol. 2, ff. 44-45. 116 Justice and Repressíonín Communist Romania pastoráls to the Greek-Catholic clergy and believers. Considered moral author of the petitioners' movement, bishop Rusu was judged by the Military Court of the 3rd Military Region from Cluj and condemned through the sentence from the 12th of May 1957 to twenty five years of forced labour for high treason and instigation8• He had passed through the prisons from Dej and Gherla where he died on the 9th May 19639•
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Greek-Catholic Discourse of Identity in the Inter-War Period: the Relation Between the Nation and People’S Religious Confession
    The Greek-Catholic Discourse of Identity in the Inter-War Period: The Relation between the Nation and People’s Religious Confession Ciprian Ghişa ”Babeş-Bolyai” University Abstract: The Greek-Catholic Discourse of Identity in the Inter-War Period: The Relation between the Nation and People’s Religious Confession. This paper aims to analyze the question of the confessional identity, focusing on one of its main constitutive elements: the relation between the nation and people’s religious confession. The national identity and the confessional one have numerous common characteristics, influencing each other more or less depending on the historical evolution of events. These aspects are more profound in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-confessional environment, as otherness is one of the strongest factors that defines and strengthens the confessional as well as the national identity. This was also the case of the Greek- Catholic Church in Romania, in the inter-war period, taking into consideration its new status after the Union of 1918: a minority church in a country with an Orthodox majority. Its relation of otherness with the Romanian Orthodox Church also influenced its relation with the state and therefore it determined also the structure and the intensity of its discourse of identity. Among the most important themes of this discourse we can mention: the Greek-Catholic Church is the church of the forefathers; this Church, its faith and its believers are Romanian; the Union with Rome brought the Romanian people a lot of benefices
    [Show full text]
  • Dobes Andrea Alexandru-Rusu Si Regimul
    Episcopul Alexandru Rusu şi regimul comunist (1945 – 1963) La sfârşitul celui de al doilea război mondial, situaţia geopolitică din Europa Central Răsăriteană a generat în ţările intrate în sfera de influenţă sovietică schimbări de structură şi fond cu implicaţii profunde asupra vieţii politice, economice, sociale şi religioase. În România, instaurarea guvernului Groza, la 6 martie 1945, a avut drept consecinţă subordonarea treptată a instituţiilor statului, şi în cele din urmă a societăţi în ansamblul ei, puterii comuniste. În aceste condiţii, biserica nu putea să rămână în afara procesului de comunizare a societăţii româneşti, iar complexitatea demografiei confesionale impunea atitudini diferenţiate pentru fiecare comunitate religioasă, care a evoluat în funcţie de „disponibilitatea” acestora spre cooperare cu puterea laică. Biserica Catolică a reprezentat pentru regimul comunist o problemă importantă, întrucât avea o structură centralizată, subordonată, atât din punct de vedere spiritual, cât şi canonic, Sfântului Scaun, considerat de comunişti drept un „centru al reacţiunii internaţionale”.1 În cazul credincioşilor romano-catolici, majoritatea de etnie maghiară, regimul a urmărit înlocuirea controlului de la Vatican cu cel de la Bucureşti, deoarece încercarea de lichidare putea fi interpretată ca o acţiune îndreptată împotriva minorităţii maghiare. În aceste condiţii, cultul romano-catolic a avut de-a lungul perioadei comuniste un statut de biserică tolerată, dar nerecunoscută oficial, în care statul nu a putut să-şi impună propria autoritate.2 În cazul Bisericii Greco-Catolice3, măsurile guvernului comunist în problema religioasă exprimau foarte clar că ierarhii erau puşi în situaţia de a alege colaborarea cu noul regim sau suprimarea. De altfel, situaţia Bisericii Greco-Catolice se încadrează, începând din anul 1948, în contextul general al relaţiilor dintre Moscova şi Vatican, iar în plan intern, în cadrul raporturilor dintre regimul comunist aflat la putere şi o biserică făţiş 1 Cristian Vasile, Între Vatican şi Kremlin.
    [Show full text]
  • Martyred Romanian Bishops Fought Communist Regime
    Martyred Romanian bishops fought communist regime The memory and witness of Romania’s martyred bishops are a reminder that Christians are called to stand firm against ideologies that seek to stifle and suppress their cultural and religious traditions, Pope Francis said. On the last leg of his visit to Romania, the pope June 2 celebrated a Divine Liturgy during which seven Eastern-rite Catholic bishops, who died during a fierce anti-religious campaign waged by the communist regime in Romania, were beatified. “These pastors, martyrs for the faith, re-appropriated and handed down to the Romanian people a precious legacy that we can sum up in two words: freedom and mercy,” the pope said. According to the Vatican, an estimated 60,000 people filled Blaj’s Liberty Field, while some 20,000 people followed the liturgy on big screens set up in various squares around the city. For Eastern Catholics in Romania, the field – located on the grounds of Blaj’s Greek Catholic Theological Seminary – is both a symbol of national pride and sorrow. It was in Liberty Field where, during the 100th anniversary of the Romanian nationalist revolution that communist authorities formerly dissolved the Eastern-rite Romanian Catholic Church. One of the newly beatified bishops, Bishop Ioan Suciu, the apostolic administrator of Fagaras and Alba Iulia, refused to appear at the event, which was perceived by his flock as a sign that they were called to remain steadfast in their faith and follow the path of persecution and martyrdom. Thirty years after the fall of communism, the sun shined brightly and solemn hymns echoed over the field that was once the site of the Eastern Catholic Church’s darkest period.
    [Show full text]
  • Chronicle of Cruelties
    CHRONICLE OF CRUELTIES ROMANIAN MISTREATMENT OF THE HUNGARIAN MINORITY IN TRANSYLVANIA by Dr. Arpad Kosztin Translated from the Hungarian by Eva Barcza Bessenyey UNEDITED PREPUBLISHING VERSION FOR HOMEPAGE ONLY ORIGINAL TITLE: MAGYARELLENES ROMÁN KEGYETLENKEDÉSEK ERDÉLYBEN ISBN 963 8363 72 X A Publication of the BIRO FAMILY BUDAPEST PLEASE NOTE: THE PAGE NUMBERS WILL BE DIFFERENT IN THE FORTHCOMMING BOOK 2 CONTENTS Contents 3 Ferenc Bartis: About the author 4 Preface 6 I. Introduction 10 II Romanian Atrocities before Horea-Closca 18 III The peasant revolt of Horea-Closca-Crisan 24 IV The freedom fight of 1848-49 32 V Romanian atrocities before and after WW I 43 VI Romanian atrocities during and after WW II-1956 74 VII During and after the 1956 Revolution 109 VIII Countermeasures after 1956 118 IX Romanian atrocities after 1989 133 Epilogue 147 Bibliography 149 Notes 167 3 The accuser shows mercy As strange as it may seem, the author of this indispensable and inevitable book, dr. Arpad Kosztin, does show mercy: he does not accuse, does not point a finger but gives us a work of factual history. And this is important for this painful objectivity gives the measure of the work's credibility. Our author does not have to be introduced to our readers for everyone knows his book on the debunking of the Daco-Roman theory (entitled the Daco-Roman Legend, it was published in English in 1997 by Matthias Corvinus Publishing, in the USA and Canada); on Romania's expansion into Transylvania; as well as his numerours lively and outspoken but profound essays and articles in the daily press.
    [Show full text]
  • Aspecte Specifice Privind Examinarea Şi Interpretarea Urmelor Criminalistice Pentru Identificarea Victimelor Unor Crime Săvârşite În Timpul Represiunii Comuniste”
    ,,ASPECTE SPECIFICE PRIVIND EXAMINAREA ŞI INTERPRETAREA URMELOR CRIMINALISTICE PENTRU IDENTIFICAREA VICTIMELOR UNOR CRIME SĂVÂRŞITE ÎN TIMPUL REPRESIUNII COMUNISTE” Dr. Viorel SISERMAN Procuror militar Colonel magistrat Examinarea şi interpretarea urmelor criminalistice pentru identificarea victimelor unor crime săvârşite în timpul represiunii comuniste, comportă o multitudine de dificultăţi, ca urmare a faptului că, - regulă generală - aceste crime au fost sau cel puţin s-a încercat să fie deosebit de bine camuflate. Evident că, în toată perioada dictaturii comuniste, conducătorii de atunci ai statului, nu au dorit ca aceste crime să fie descoperite iar atunci când totuşi s-au făcut unele anchete, cum a fost de exemplu în anul 1968, rezultatul acestora nu s-a putut materializa, ca urmare a faptului că, o parte dintre conducătorii partidului – stat, în frunte cu Nicolae Ceauşescu (fost General), erau ei înşişi implicaţi într-o formă sau alta de participaţie (instigatori, complici, tăinuitori sau chiar autori) la astfel de acţiuni abominabile, soldate cu zeci de mii de victime omeneşti. Astfel, s-a preferat muşamalizarea şi ,,punerea la păstrare” a acestor documente, apreciindu-se că nu vor fi descoperite crimele prin împlinirea termenului de prescripţie. Abordând problema prescripţiei, este limpede că, dacă aceste crime ar fi cercetate separat, ajungându-se chiar la stabilirea autorilor nemijlociţi ai faptei termenul de prescripţie este împlinit, de mult. Dacă însă aceste crime sunt analizate global de pe întregul teritoriu al ţării şi pe toată durata dictaturii comuniste, nu se pune problema prescripţiei, întrucât multitudinea cazurilor de suprimare a vieţii opozanţilor politici îmbracă formele crimelor contra păcii şi omenirii, care, potrivit art. 121, alin.
    [Show full text]
  • Contents/Sommaire
    RANSYLVANIAN EVIEW Vol. XXIV T R No. 3 /REVUE DE TRANSYLVANIE Autumn 2015 Contents/Sommaire ROMANIAN ACADEMY Chairman: • Paradigms Academician Ionel-Valentin Vlad Between Religion and Science: Some Aspects Concerning Illness and Healing in Antiquity 3 CENTER FOR Simona Gabriela Bungãu TRANSYLVANIAN STUDIES Viorel-Cristian Popa Director: Academician Ioan-Aurel Pop Religion and Power in Ioan Petru Culianu’s View 19 Dorin David A Priest in the “Romanian Action”: Dr. Titus Mãlaiu 26 Maria Ghitta Aspects of Religiosity in the Social Institutions Operating in the Romanian Public Space 40 Ion Petricã Felicia Andrioni Religion and the Public Sphere: Transitional (Post-communist) Representations of the Uniate Community of Cluj-Napoca, between Religion and Politics 56 Codruþa Liana Cuceu Pilgrimage and Its Infrastructure in Post-communist Transylvania 70 Mircea Sergiu Moldovan From Double to Triple Minority: Romanian neo-Protestants from the Serbian Banat in the United States and Canada 85 Mircea Mãran Aleksandra Durić-Milovanović– • Tangencies La révolution hussite et l’affirmation du voïvodat de Transylvanie dans le contexte de la croisade tardive 98 Florian Dumitru Soporan Liana Lãpãdatu The Moldavian Lady On the cover: and the Elder Lords of the East 113 Solicitude, Silence... Mark Whelan (2014) Photo by ALIN BARBIR Alexandru Simon TR 3 2015.indd 1 11/13/2015 12:31:51 PM Violence in Northern Ireland 130 Corina Pãcurar Transylvanian Review continues the • Editorial Events tradition of Revue de Transylvanie, founded by Silviu Dragomir, which Romanian Capitalism: Out of the Frying Pan into was published in Cluj and then in Sibiu the Fire: Lessons in Dependency and Development 140 between 1934 and 1944.
    [Show full text]
  • The Greek Catholics and the Orthodoxs in Contemporary Romania
    THE GREEK CATHOLICS AND THE ORTHODOXS IN CONTEMPORARY ROMANIA Victor Neumann The different religious identity of the Greek-Catholics is marked by the fact that they recognize the Pope as the supreme head of the Church. In contrast with the Orthodoxs they practice the Eucharist with yeasted and unyeasted bread; the Holy Spirit comes not only from the Father but also from the Son. Purgatory is the place of the pure like for the Roman Catholics. Their structure is the same as in the Roman Catholic Church, and it respects its discipline and dogmas; the hierarchy is established by papal rules. High functions are nomi- nated through papal decrees. Messes, fasts and holidays are like those of the Orthodox Church. Therefore there are different names for the Church such as Greek-Catholic, Catholic of Byzantine rite or the Church united with Rome. Among the divergent elements the most provocative has always been the submission to the Pope. Studies and articles that tackle the theme of the relations between the Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Church in Romania are dominated by the confessional and sometimes even by the political partisanship. Many of the articles and studies are signed by the representatives of the clergy. Historians, for whom one or the other of the churches has become an important issue, write some. It must be added that the majority of them put into value the documentary information (excerpts from the diocesan archives, from the old books, from the press of the time) important for the knowledge of the past but they do not rise to the level of an objective analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • In Slujba Credinţei Oradea Mare
    pret«l unui număr 3 Lei. Anul XIII. Blaj, la 22 Noemvrie 1931 Nr. 46 ABONAMENTUL: Iese odată la săptămână ANUNŢURI ŞI RECLAME Un an • 180 Lei te primesc la Administraţie si »• Adresa: „UNIREA POPORULUI", Blaj, Jud. TArnava-mică Pe jumătate .... 90 Lei plătesc: un şir mărunt odată 5 Lei In America pe an 2 dolari. Director ALEXANDRU LUPEANU-MELIN a doua şi a treia oră 4 Lei. Un steag al lui Isus se desfăşură astăzi şi în partea noastră de ţară, Ja In slujba credinţei Oradea Mare. Este drapelul „Agrului" caro înţelege sa adune în jurul său pe însoţirea creştinească a Românilor uniţi „Agrul" îşi ţine astăzi congresul toţi acei creştini, cari, ca sfântul Apo­ In Oradea-Mare înâlţând steagul nebiruit al ostaşilor crucii stol Pavel, au curajul şi tăria să spună şi să mărturisească sus şi tare : „Nu De Dascălul Sandu mă ruşinez de evangheliei" Nu mă ru­ In lumea plină de necazuri şi de noastră mântuire s'a pogorît din ce- şinez de Hristos, nu mă ruşinez de • • tt credinţa mea şi vreau să trăiesc după plânsori din zilele noastre oamenii se nurr poruncile şi îndemnurile ei. Sunt ostaş desfac, pe nesimţite, în două taberi Ostaşii din tabăra aceasta cred şi al crucii Mântuitorului şi ştiu, că amără­ mari, uşor de deosebit. mărturisesc, că lumea numai atunci va ciunile şi greutăţile acestei vieţi trecă­ fi mulţumită şi împăcată, când lumina Tabăra cea dintâi este a acelora toare nu se pot vindeca şi birui decât lui Hristos va lumina tuturor şi toţi cari, sub povara durerilor şi greutăţilor sub semnul de slavă oare a dus la în­ oamenii vor trăi după evanghelie şi de fiecare zi, îşi pierd repede cumpăna vingere şi ostile lui Constantin împă­ sfintele tradiţii creştineşti.
    [Show full text]
  • Articolul În Format *.Pdf
    Codruþa Maria ªTIRBAN C iser, ºi episcopul de Timiºoara – Augustin Paka. Au fost lãsaþi însã în Dupã pãrerea noastrã, acest grupaj de 4 pagini dedicat Bise- funcþiile lor episcopul Iuliu Hossu, la Cluj, ºi episcopul Vasile Aftenie, ricii Române Unite nu este nici pe departe complet. În conti- Marcel ªTIRBAN vicarul mitropoliei de Blaj, la Bucureºti. Episcopul Ioan Suciu, admi- n uare aºteptãm ºi, pe rînd, publicãm ºi alte pãreri, studii ºi nistrator apostolic al întregii Provincii Mitropolitane, va fi demis prin- contribuþii. Redacþia. tr-o decizie a Ministerului Culturii încã din 3 septembrie 1948, anu- lîndu-se astfel decizia de numire din februarie 1947. Acþiunile sînt preluate ºi continuate în luna octombrie 1948 de cã- anticomunistã catolicã depãºeºte cercul membrilor acestei credinþe 1948. tre ierarhia BOR, sprijinitã de organele politice ºi de ordine ale statu- ºi cautã sã se rãsfrîngã la toate celelalte confesiuni. Mai ales tentative lui. La 1 octombrie 1948 are loc adunarea de la Cluj a celor 36 de pre- se fac în Anglia pentru cîºtigarea anglicanilor, ºi în Rãsãritul Orto- Momente pregãtitoare. oþi uniþi care „hotãrãsc” trecerea la ortodoxie; aceastã hotãrîre e sanc- dox... În România se pun mari speranþe în Biserica Unitã, care trebu- þionatã de Patriarhia Ortodoxã Românã prin Actul sãu sinodal din 3 ie sã serveascã de punte pentru trecerea ortodoxiei la catolicism.” octombrie; la 21 octombrie se organizeazã la Alba Iulia „manifestãri- Concluz ia notei este urmãtoarea: „Sf. Scaun este astãzi cea mai mare Episcopi sub urmãrire le” în cinstea revenirii la ortodoxie. forþã din Europa care se opune comunismului ºi tuturor Guvernelor Replica întregului episcopat român unit, a celui romano-catolic ºi în care aceºtia sunt reprezentaþi.
    [Show full text]
  • Szőke János SDB Vértanú Kortárs Püspökök a Kárpát-Medencében *
    Magyar Sion 2009:Layout 1 26. 5. 2009 10:31 Page 82 82 Szőke János SDB Vértanú kortárs püspökök a Kárpát-medencében * A mai konferencia vezérgondolata kifejezi azt a tanúságtételt, amelyet a múlt század vértanú püspökei a Kárpát-medencében félreért- hetetlenül bizonyítottak: Hittel és hűséggel . Mégis meg kell fontolnunk azt az apostoli buzdítást, amelyet II. János Pál elénk tárt 2003. június 28- án, amikor az Ecclesia in Európa 1 kezdetű szinódusi záróbeszédében szólt hozzánk: soha el ne felejtődjék a reménység nagy jele, amelyet a ke- resztény hit oly sok tanúja alkotott a múlt században Keleten és Nyugaton egyaránt, akik „magukévá tudták tenni az evangéliumot ellenségeskedés és üldözés meghatározta helyzetekben, gyakran a vértanúság végső pró - batételéig”. 2 Miért ez a felszólítás, hogy ne felejtsük el a múlt század vértanúit? Nem teljesen egyértelmű-e az Egyházban elterjedt általános felfogás, hogy a vértanúk kiontott vére a kereszténység magva? Vagy talán kishitűek lettünk, hogy a mag csíráiban is ott hordozza a biztos termés jövőjét? Az indítékot talán az a tény adja, hogy nemcsak a tömegkommu - nikáció világában, hanem a keresztény világban is, annak bizonyos szek - toraiban, melyek kritikusabbak az Egyház felé, hajlamosak elfelejteni a XX. század üldöztetéseit, és ami még fontosabb, fanatikusként, funda - mentalistaként diszkvalifikálni, szinte kigúnyolni igyekeznek azokat, akik ezeket az üldöztetéseket elszenvedték egészen vérük ontásáig. Több vértanúról emlékezünk meg, akiket Isten az ő végtelen * Elhangzott Budapesten 2008. október 28-án a Központi Papnevelő Intézetben tartott „Hittel és hűséggel” c. konferencián. 1 A jezsuiták folyóirata: La Civiltà Cattolica , 2005. február 19-i számához írt szerkesztőségi cikk (319-328. o.) magyar változatában találjuk az ide vonatkozó forrásokat és idézeteket.
    [Show full text]
  • The Holy See
    The Holy See APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO ROMANIA EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II St Joseph Latin-Rite Cathedral, Bucharest Saturday, 8 May 1999 1. “Dress yourself and put on your sandals” (Acts 12:8). The angel says these words to the Apostle Peter, whom the first reading shows us confined in prison. Guided by the angel, Peter escaped from prison and regained his freedom. The Lord Jesus also spoke to us of freedom in the Gospel passage we have just heard: “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn 8:32). Those who are listening to him do not understand: “From what slavery must we be freed?”, they ask themselves. And Jesus explains that the most deceptive and repressive slavery is that of sin (cf. Jn 8:34). Only he can free us from that slavery. This is the message that the Church proclaims to the world: Christ is our freedom, because he is the truth. Not an abstract truth, gropingly sought by ever restless human reason. The truth for us is the person of Christ. It is he who told us: “I am the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). If the darkness of sin is defeated by the light of life, then there is no slavery that can suppress freedom. 2. You know this truth well, beloved brother Alexandru Todea, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, and you, Archbishop Gheorghe Gutiu, because before you, as before Peter, the heavy door of slavery opened by itself and you were given back to your Churches together with many other brothers and sisters, some of whom we have the joy and privilege of greeting and spiritually kissing here at this Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine rite.
    [Show full text]
  • Şapte Vieți De Sfinți Români Monica Broşteanu (N
    Şapte vieți de sfinți români Monica Broşteanu (n. 5 ianuarie 1948, Broşteni, jud. Suceava). Licenţiată în filologie (engleză–română, 1970) și limbi orientale (arabă–persană, 1978) la Universitatea din Bucureşti şi în teologie (1996, Institutul Teologic Romano-Catolic din Bucureşti), doctor în filologie (2003). A predat la Institutul Teologic Romano-Catolic cursuri de ebraică biblică, teologie sacramentală şi liturgică, ştiinţe biblice. Este conferenţiar universitar la Universitatea din Bucureşti, unde predă cursurile: Coranul şi Biblia: probleme de traducere şi interpretare, Comunităţile creştine din ţările Orientului Mijlociu, Tradiţii textuale (Noul Testament). Din lucrări: Numele divine în Biblie şi în Coran şi traducerea lor în limba română. Studiu lexical, Ed. Polirom, 2004; „Com- pararea Incomparabilelor – câteva Nume privind atributele divine în scripturile marilor religii monoteiste“, în Caietele Institutului Catolic, nr. 2/2001; Vladimir Ghika: Profesor de speranță (în colaborare), Ed. ARCB, 2013. Din traduceri: Conciliul Vatican II – Constituţii, Decrete, Declaraţii (în colaborare cu Francisca Băltăceanu), Ed. ARCB, 1990, 1999, 2019; A. Scrima, Comentariu la Evanghelia după Ioan, cap. 1–17, tr. din arabă, Ed. Humanitas, 2008; Pierre Claverie, Mic tratat despre întâlnire şi dialog, Ed. Hu- manitas, 2015; Brant Pitre, Misterul Cinei de pe urmă: Isus și rădăcinile iudaice ale Euharistiei, tr. din engleză, Ed. Humanitas, 2016; Henri J.M. Nouwen, Fiul risipitor: Povestea unei întoarceri acasă, tr. din engleză, Ed. Humanitas, 2017; Michel Remaud, Creștini în fața lui Israel: Slujitor al lui Dumnezeu, tr. din franceză, Ed. Galaxia Gutenberg, 2018. Francisca Băltăceanu (n. 15 iunie 1943, București). Licenţiată în filologie clasică (1965, Universitatea din Bucureşti) şi teologie (1996, Institutul Teologic Romano-Ca- tolic din Bucureşti), doctor în filologie (1979).
    [Show full text]