Basic HTML Version
.
.
PAGE 18
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, SEPTEMBER 2, 1986
society. Yet their failure among peoples whose past is deeply
rooted in the church has never been so strikingly evident as it
is today•••• The most disturbing development for East-bloc
regimes is the attraction of religion for young people, whom
governments depend upon as future key supporters. Exhorted by
church leaders to follow religious belief rather than official
dogma, many young people see Communism as an uninspiring vehicle
for cynical opportunists. In his May encyclical, Pope John Paul
II defined the problem facing Communist authorities when he
described the ideology of Marxism and the atheism supposed to
flow from it as "spiritual ruin."
The Polish Pope, whose selection in 1978 buoyed Catholics
throughout
the Eastern
bloc, remains
critical to the
reawakening.... Czech authorities have vetoed a visit by John
Paul. Ordinary Czechs still secretly circulate among themselves
tqe soul-stirring comments he made during his 1983 trip to
Poland••••
Indeed, the one constant of Eastern European religious life is
the ability to flourish in defiance of repression. Nowhere is
this· clearer than in Romania, which has seen a spectacular
growth among Protestant denominations despite years of hostile
policies. More than 200,000 Baptists are now active in pressing
for church space and in smuggling Bibles from abroad••••
In Yugoslavia, which is not a member of the Eastern bloc,
authorities tolerate religion but are openly concerned about its
impact on the young. In one recent poll, 52 percent of young
Yugoslavs -- up from 33 percent in 1965 -- described themselves
as religious.
The most dramatic public evidence of the
spiritual revival in Yugoslavia is the pilgrimages by as many as
100,000 believers to the village of Medjugorje. The faithful
believe the Virgin Mary's image has appeared the� to young
people every evening since June, 19BT:"
The true bulwark of religion in Eastern Europe, however, remains
the Polish Catholic Church. Over centuries, it has embodied the
Polish national consciousness and has become, since the
containment of Solidarity, a rallying point for opponents to the
regime•••• In a letter smuggled out of prison, Adam Michnik, one
of Poland's best-known political prisoners until his recent
release, wrote that "being religious is becoming a synonym for
being in opposition."
Today, worship _Qy Polish youth is at unprecedented levels. In
one recent poll, 75 percent said they participate in religious
events and more than half said they believe in miracles•••• Pope
John Paul's next trip to his homeland, expected in June, 1987,
seems likely to serve again as a national catharsis.
It's safe to say we will be looking at considerable political and
religious activity across the dividing line in Europe in 1987 and beyond.
--Gene Hogberg, News Bureau