Intervention of Mons. Virgil BERCEA, Bishop of Oradea Mare, Gran Varadino of the Romanians (ROMANIA)

Many aspects unite our Romanian Church with the sister Churches of the Middle East: above all its being a “little flock”. The Greek Catholic Church in Romania too lives its difficult mission as a minority; a presence that is, though, very powerful in the history of our country, that synthesizes in its being in full communion with the See of Peter and the treasure house of the Byzantine tradition.

Dear Eastern brothers, we are called, together with you, to face the trials of our times: the huge wave of emigration and globalization with all of its challenges and idols which Pope Benedict XVI spoke about and which we are all called to expose. Further, such a situation of emigration–which we have never before experienced in the history of our Romanian peoples–in which, out of a population of 22 million citizens, nearly five million are living in Europe and in the world, offers the opportunity for productive comparisons and mutual enrichment.
Immigration in sharing enhances all; therefore, we always keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, the first one who had to move out of the land of Egypt, to ask of and receive from him that renewed enthusiasm, and that we must then communicate to our faithful and our communities.