Priority:
normal

Background:
For the Hungarian minority in Moldavia (Romania) the Roman Catholic
masses are still not offered in their native mother tongue. Several
congregations have been asking for years, that the Holy Mass shall be
offered in Hungarian. The responsibles are still denying the request.
This denial is contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic
Church and is also an affront to their most basic human rights.

What to do:
Please write a letter to the responsible bishop Gergel and protest
against the current situation. Feel free to use the attached letter
written by Bela Liptak.
Please DO NOT ONLY PUT IN YOUR NAMES AND MAIL the letter, but also
distribute it among your friends, take it to your churches, local
papers, representatives. Let us mount a real campaign in support of
the cause of these most faightful Catholics.

Address of Bishop Petru Gergel:
Episcopia Romano-Catolica
Iasi, Code: 6600
Romania

November 6, 1996

Episcop Petru Gergel
Episcopia Romano-Catolica
Iasi, Code: 6600
Romania

Dear Bishop Gergel,

Upon visiting Cleja in Bacau county, I learned that the mass is not
offered to the Roman Catholics of this region, in their native
tongue. (They moved into Moldavia in the 14-15th Centuries and still
speak that archaic form of Hungarian, which was spoken at the time,
when they left Hungary.) This denial of offering the mass in their
native tongue, is both contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic
Church and also is an affront to their most basic human rights.

I was told that the congregations of Cleja, Pustina and Lazped have
been asking for years, that the Holy Mass be offered in their archaic
Hungarian language. They claim, that they were told, that “Hungarian
is the language of the Devil” and in response to their request, on the
29th of April, 1995, thugs were bussed to Cleja (lead by Marcel
Ungureanu) and while their priest and some 30 policeman stood
passively by, the parishioners were beaten up.

I respectfully ask you Bishop Gergel, to order a full investigation of
these events and to permit the use of their native tongue, both in the
churches and in the schools that are operated by the church.

Respectfully yours,

Your name, address, title

Copies:
The Honorable Archbishop Jan Robu, Archiepiscopacy Romano-Catolica,
Bucuresti, Romania
The Honorable Paskai L=DFszl=BE, Hercegprimas, Esztergom, Hungary
His Holiness, Pope John Paul, Vatican City, Rome, Italy