Vol. 563 No. 5
173 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has received reports of discrimination and harassment against members of the Greek Catholic Church in Romania; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8510/03]
I am aware of reports of difficulties encountered by the Greek Catholic Church in Romania, particularly in relation to the question of the restitution of property following the end of the communist era. Following the establishment of a communist government in Romania after the Second World War, the Romanian authorities effected a union between the Greek Catholic Church, which recognises the authority of the Holy See, and the Romanian Orthodox Church. Places of worship and other properties belonging to the Greek Catholic Church, and also those belonging to the Reformed Church, were nationalised and then transferred to the Orthodox Church in 1948. After the fall of communism in Romania, the question of restitution arose when the Orthodox Church did not restore places of worship to the Greek Catholic Church. For its part, the then Romanian Government took the view that this was a private dispute and refrained from seeking any legal solution or ordering restitution of any property.
