The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1956-12-28

is said TO be living in his native
land after years in Jail.
Outside OF Lithuania and Lat
via, the hierarchy in the Soviet
Union is to all effects extinct.
The Byzantine Rite Catholics of
the Ukraine and of the annexed
areas Of eastern Poland live in
the underground.
Four Churches Remain
The old Russian Empire count
ed some 1900 Catholic churches.
Today, as far as is known. there
are only four churches in all of
the Soviet Union outside Llth-
uania and Latvis. These are in
Moscow, Leningrad, Odessa and
Tbilisi. :
II is in the communist states
of central and southeastern Eur
ope that the status of the Church
has changed the most In 1856. In
Albania, Bulgaria and Rumanis,
the Church, never strong, has
been virtually liquidated.
The last member of the Alban-
ian hierarchy, Bishop Bernardine
Shlaku of Pulati, died in early
November.
II was confirmed sf the Vat
lean Just before Advent began
that fhe last free bishop in Bui-
garis, Bishop Cyril kurteff
Apostolic Exsreh for Bulgarian
Catholics of the Byzantine Rite,
had been arrested in Sofia.
When the Bishop was expelled
from his residences in 1872, II
was reported that he was or.
rested. The fact Is, however,
that he made his quarters in
small room in the basement of
fhe Sofia cathedral, and lived
there until his recent arrest.
OF l27 priests and 400 ReIis-
ious in Bulgaria before the
Iron Curtain fell, only . hand
full are still free. The Church,
which once toialIed $500 faith
fol- is decimafed.
In Rumania. the old stronghold
of the Catholic Church in the
Balkans, only two bishops are
free to do limited work among the
country's IL Sees. Reports of un-
rest recently indicated that as in
the other satellites, the popula-
tons Seething hatred against the
communist appressor is increas-
ing. But the blackout on news Of
the Church is virtually a COM
plete one.
In Yugoslavia, the hand of the
dictator Tito weighs no less heav-
lily on the people. The symbol
of the persecution of the Church
is the Primate of Croatia, His
Eminence Aloysius Cardinal Step
mac, now in his 18th year of
being barred from his ecclesias-
tical duties. Arrested in Septem-
Der. 1916, the Cardinal-Archbish-
op was duly convicted and sent
enced under communist justice,
but was released and confined to
his tiny native village of Krasic
five years ago. There he remains.
In the past year, the arrest of
priests for such anti-state activi-
ties as referring to st. Joseph
as "the patron Of the workers
has been stepped up. In August,
the Red regime ordered the Ca
tholic seminary at Split closed
for an, eight-year period, leaving
only four seminaries-all under
close surveillance-in the whole
country.
Hungary
In the case of Hungary. the sit
uation of the Church prior to the
peoples fight for freedom ap-
peared one of improvement. Ev-
en- before the custer of the Stall
mist communist BOSS, Matyas Ra-
kosi, in midsummer, the Reds
had granted more freedom to the
Church. Archbishop josef Groesz
OF Kalocsa, who had been impris-
oned in 1851, was released and
allowed TO return TO his post
the first Ordinary behind the
Iron Curtain actually permitted
to resume his Church duties. A
number of priests were freed
from jail, and there were even
pleas from avowed communists
that the propagandists' "old
empty commonplaces about relig-
ion" be dropped and that the re-
gime enter into genuine discus
slons with the churches.
In the chaotic state which has
followed the Soviet bioodhsfh
against the popular rebellion,
the status of the Church is in
the balance. His Eminence JOS
ref Cardinal Mindszsniy, the
Prince Prima'e, is on the free