Aid to the Church in Need: Bulgaria: Small steps towards the future

Bulgaria: Small steps towards the future

Posted by ACN News on 26/8/2008, 10:40 am
Board Administrator

Small steps towards the future
By Eva Maria Kolmann

Little Elena has brought her parents up well. Before, they used to sleep in late on Sundays, while their daughter went to Mass. But then Elena spoke up. For she had learned from the Holy Eucharist Sisters, who care for children like her, that God is waiting for them. So she simply dragged her parents along with her to go to Mass. And so now they also go regularly to Holy Mass – but this time it is out of conviction.

Stories like this are not unusual in Bulgaria, as Sanja Krsnik and Magda Kaczmarek of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) discovered when they visited the country recently. Often it is through the children that the parents find their way back to the Faith. Nonetheless, for the Catholic priests and religious sisters working here, a great deal of patience is required. To expect big successes in this country, which has barely 80,000 Catholics, is a mistake. "We are working for the coming generation", the priests and sisters agree. "But we feel that we are needed by the Catholics here, and that is why we are staying", adds Resurrectionist Father Jacek, from Poland. Most of the priests continue to come from abroad, for home-grown vocations are evolving slowly. "Each vocation is like gold", says Magda Kaczmarek.

The poverty throughout the country is appalling, recalls Sanja Krsnik, "When people told me I would find conditions in Bulgaria similar to the Third World, I could not at first imagine it. But then we saw for ourselves just how great the poverty was, even in the capital Sofia. Yet right next to it the slopes of the Vitoscha Mountains, which overlook the city, one can find a multitude of the most magnificent villas, protected not only by walls, but even by watchtowers. That was something I hadn't expected."

The poverty of the great majority of the population is also shared by the Catholic Church. Most of the priests can barely make ends meet. Yet the commitment of the Catholic faithful is admirable. "The people make a tremendous effort, but there is simply no money", says Magda Kaczmarek. "A major source of help for the priests is via the Mass offerings given by our benefactors." The Catholic Church depends on the financial support of ACN in order to be able to continue her work.

A serious and continuing problem, however, is the persistent failure to return Church properties that were confiscated from the Catholic Church during communist times. For example, the Holy Eucharist Sisters in Sofia are still hoping to secure the return of their old convent building. When the state refused to grant this, the sisters turned to the courts. "Their judgement was unbelievable", says Sanja Krsnik. "Can you imagine? The court came to the conclusion that there was no such building, yet it is still standing there!" And Magda Kaczmarek adds, "The Catholic Bishop of Sofia, Christo Proykov, told us: 'We are living in a state without laws'. This is something that should not be happening within the European Union!"

But there is still hope. For instance, in the town of Pleven in northern Bulgaria there is now a new Catholic church. Once there was no church in this town of 150,000 souls, among whom there are 5,000 Catholics. The establishment of the parish began around the end of the 1990s in the basement of a residential apartment block. Now, since the building of the church, more and more people have been coming. "Everything is easier when there is a real church that the people can see", Magda Kaczmarek remarked. "Otherwise, many people are afraid it might be some kind of a sect, when religious worship is held in private homes." ACN has given financial support for the construction of this church in Pleven, called Our Lady of Fatima. But this too had its problems when it could not be consecrated due to the authorities continually delaying the formal approval of the Church. In fact, it was a chance remark that brought about the change. A film crew from the Catholic radio and television network (CRTN) had arrived to take pictures of the church. When a woman from the parish telephoned yet again the civic authorities, requesting permission for the opening of the church, she was at first refused, for the umpteenth time. But then she asked the female official, "Has the film team been to visit you yet?" Suddenly, things began to happen very quickly and the approval procedure got under way. Sometimes, the fear of the television cameras can work wonders... and so now the Catholics of Pleven will soon be able to dedicate their church.

Despite all the problems, the Catholic Church in Bulgaria is still very much alive, and this itself is a miracle after the horrors of communism. "The communists intended us to die out, and they were sure that they would succeed in this", says Sister Beate Schröter, the Superior of the Benedictine missionary sisters. And so they forced the Carmelite sisters, for example, to live for 40 years in the organ loft of their own church. As for the Benedictine missionary sisters, Sister Beate adds, "They locked us in our own convent, in the attic, in the hope that we would die out. But it was communism that died, and we are still here! We are overjoyed that ACN is helping us to take small steps forward and to do something for the people in a spirit of faith. Thank you for being there!"

In Bulgaria almost 83% of the population belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, while around 12% are Muslims. The remainder is made up of various minority religions, including Catholics, Protestants, other Christian denominations, Jews and those of no religion.

To help this cause please contact the Sydney office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org