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Catholic World News News Feature

Pope lauds Romanian Catholic Church January 09, 1998

VATICAN (CWN) -- Pope John Paul II today received a group of seminarians from the Romanian Catholic seminary in Rome, and urged them not to forget the events which have marked the life of their Eastern-rite Church during the past 60 years.

The Holy Father greeted students from Pio Romeno, a pontifical college founded by Pope Pius XI in order to serve the needs of the Eastern-rite Catholic communities. Pope John Paul noted that Romanian Catholics in particular are at a crossroads, 300 years after their Church returned to full communion with the Holy See, because they have emerged from years of Communist repression.

The Pope praised the Romanian Catholic community for remaining loyal to the faith throughout the years when leaders were imprisoned and the faithful were ordered to join local Orthodox parishes. The Holy Father paid tribute in particular to two Church leaders who had been active in that resistance, and remain alive today: Cardinal Alexandru Todea and Archbishop Ioan Ploscaru. These and other bishops, the Pope said, had "paid dearly to defend the rights of the Church and to proclaim the freedom of conscience."

During those difficult years, the Pope continued, the seminary in Rome had been a "sign of hope" as the Church waited for "better times." Today's seminarians should always be mindful of that history, he said.

The Pope also praised the Eastern-rite Catholic communities for their contribution to the life and diversity of the universal Church. He said they enrich not only the Church, but also the secular culture of Europe.