Refutations of the items contained in the letter of Petru Gherghel, Diocesan Bishop

“In response of your electronic mail dated 9 February 2009, I would like you to know that I was surprised to read those listed therein just like that you are concerned about the Roman Catholic believers of the Episcopate of Jászvásár, and it came natural that I ordered on-the-spot investigation.”

It was also an important example of on-the-spot investigation, which followed the written application of 1991 addressed to the Roman Catholic Episcopate of Jászvásár (Laşi) and signed by the inhabitants of Pusztina, requesting Petru Gherghel, Bishop, to grant permission for the mass to be celebrated in the Hungarian language, too. The application signed by 200 individuals was received by Grigore Duma, the secretary and deputy of the Bishop, who failed to provide a file number but promised a written answer from the Episcopate that however has not yet been received. Conversely, during the days following the “successful” hearing, Grigore Duma went to see the vicarage of Pusztina accompanied by the competent official. And – similarly to the methods used by Securitate – started asking those that have signed the application in. Many of the signatories assumed the responsibility for what they had signed, and many of them under pressure denied ever having signed the application out of fear what happened in the past, when one was not permitted to declare himself to belong to any nation other than the Romanian. As a result, the inhabitants of the village turned against each other.

“The statements of our delegate, just like the written declaration of Inocenţiu Arcana, the pastor held in high esteem by the local parson and the community of Szitás (Nicoreşti) suggest that nobody is against Hungarian lessons to be organised at school within a legal framework, if requested and necessary, as no one is opposed to holding English, German, Italian etc. language lessons. The school curriculum is compiled in accordance with the requirements of public education and with the real needs of the school and the community.
As far as the attitude of the parson of Szitás and of other priests you mentioned is concerned, it has not been proved that “a real hostile campaign was launched against education in the Hungarian language”. Rather, it is noticeable that the parson with such care as expected from a pastor is watching over the peacefulness, morals and faith of the believers in the congregation under his control.”

The status of the Association of Csango-Hungarians in Moldavia was legitimised by court order under which it operates and pursues its activities specified in its Statutes, including among others the activities intended to teach Hungarian out of school. The statutory regulations in force do not require these activities to be licensed by the school or the school inspectorate or other institutions. It can be unambiguously seen in what the priest of Szitás told that he is against Hungarian language courses: „…What’s next? They will probably send them to go on an excursion to Hungary shortly in the summer, and then who knows what else might happen? Therefore, things must be done in clear order by using our brains. We must take a look at what they are intend to do … what is the purpose of their presence among you. I personally will forbid parents and children from attending those courses. So, there are English lessons held at school,…, which language is not taught privately at somebody’ home. Private instructions do not fulfil the most elementary conditions of how lessons should be held at a minimum…” The transcribed text can be read and the material recorded in the church can be listened to from this website: http://ro.csango.ro/index.php?page=atac_nicoresti.
Analogous case occurred last summer at Klézse (Cleja), where the priest forbade the children from attending Hungarian classes held at school within statutory bounds, holding out the threat of not accepting them for confirmation if they still do. The parents of these children were advised to withdraw their application for receiving instruction in the Hungarian mother tongue. And such situations occur constantly in the Roman Catholic settlements of the Diocese of Jászvásár, where the Alliance of Csango-Hungarians in Moldavia is active.

“The investigations conducted in the aforementioned diocese have not proved that the parson is opposed to the studying of either language, the least of all the Hungarian language, mainly because lots of inhabitants of the settlement work in Hungary. We asked some believers about this issue and they alleged that the parson had not taken action against Hungarian classes, and that he had only protected them from the working method of the two individuals arrived at the village, which arose and still arises suspicion.”

The two individuals at issue came to Szitás at the beginning of this school year (2008–2009). They worked hard for ensuring better conditions in the house leased to us; they got acquainted and had a chat with the locals to describe their goals. As soon as they started working, they presented themselves before the parson of the settlement in order to identify their activities to be pursued within the framework of the programmes and activities of the Alliance of Csango-Hungarians in Moldavia. And the priest instantly declared his intention to launch a campaign against the Alliance of Csango-Hungarians in Moldavia and the activities thereof. At the end of the liturgy, a so-called “warning” was heard after this discussion. The Catholic Church should acknowledge the activities in which the Alliance of Csango-Hungarians in Moldavia has been engaged for 10 years, and should admit the fact that the teachers have committed no illegal or other action that would undermine the authority of the Catholic Church, and they are neither paedophiles nor trading human organs etc.

“Otherwise, it is natural that we feel Hungarians to be our brothers, to whom we are attached not only in terms of history but also geographically and denominationally. Similarly, I am convinced that everybody has the right to praise the Lord in his own language, and mostly – I hope you agree – to respect people as they declare themselves to be. True enough you are talking about “Csango Hungarians” living in Szitás and other villages, but the nationwide censuses taken by the Romanian State show that the majority of them declared and declare themselves to be Rumanian and Catholic.”

The Csango Hungarians living in Szitás and other villages are of Hungarian nationality, and the dialect Csangos are using is an archaic dialect of the Hungarian language. When visiting these settlements and listening to what language these people speak, it can be established that the majority of adults and children uses this dialect every day. It would be illegitimate to deny their affiliation.
A great many people are included in the data of censuses taken at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century as native Hungarians and speaking Hungarian as their mother tongue. For example: The Great Geographical Dictionary of Rumania (Marele dicţionar geografic al României) – compiled by George Ioan Lahovari, published by the Romanian Society of Geography (Societatea Geografică Română) states in 1898 in Bucharest as follows:
Bákó County. Inhabitants: “According to the census of 1890, Bákó County has 172,496 inhabitants. According to nations, the inhabitants of towns are broken down as follows: 9,665 Rumanian, 1,199 Hungarian, 7,369 Jewish, 530 Armenian, 45 Greek, 629 German, 20 Russian, 5 Serb, 18 French, 55 Italian, 12 Swiss, 2 Turkish, 36 Bulgarian, which is altogether 19,200 persons. The inhabitants of villages are composed of: 123,132 Rumanian, 24,715 Hungarian, 5,197 Jewish, 47 Greek, 111 German, 5 Russian, 5 French, 58 Italian, 1 English, 35 Bulgarian, totalling to 152,296 persons. Number of inhabitants under Rumanian supervision, including Armenians, Hungarians and Jews other than Rumanians: 170,883. The Catholic Church has 32,463 believers in this county, more than in any other county of the country. The Catholic Bishop has two vicars serving in Bákó County: one of them is of Trotuş seated in Tatrosvásár (Târgul-Trotuşul). This vicarage has 4 congregations in Tatrosvásár and the villages inhabited by Szeklers, in Dormánfalva (Dărmăneşti), in Pusztina (Pustiana) in şi Gorzafalva (Grozeşti). The second vicarage is of Bákó seated in Bákó. The parishes of the regions inhabited by Csangos belong to this vicarage, specifically: Prezest (Prăjeşti), Bákó (Bacău), Lujzikalagor (Liuzi-Călugăra), Bogdánfalva (Valea Seacă), Nagypatak (Valea-Mare), Klézse (Cleja) şi Forrófalva (Faraoani). Catholic churches: 62 active, 2 under construction, 12 priests, 54 cantors and church-servants serve therein. Hungarians belong to this religion, numbering 25,914 individuals, including 24,715 persons in more than 80 villages.”
Their number has dropped sharply in the last 60-80 years. We wonder whether they have all disappeared or emigrated? Or, it is the assimilation policy of the Communist regime supported by other institutions leading to that they no longer acknowledge their affiliation?
Even Traian Băsescu, President of the State, set up a committee to make reports (the so-called Tismăneanu Report) that condemned the Communist regime; there are three paragraphs on Page 536 in the part pertaining to the Hungarian minority, in which the violent assimilation of the Csangos in Moldavia and the relevant responsibility of the Catholic Church are described.
Please find below the paragraphs pertaining to the Csangos: “The assimilation policy of the Communist regime has resulted in dramatic consequences also for the standing of the Csangos in Moldavia; this community comprises around 60,000 Hungarian speaking persons from among the Roman Catholics of Neamţ and Bákó Counties. The first attempts aimed at violently assimilating the Csangos were made during the period between the two World Wars, and the Catholic Church played an important role in the process. Facilitating Csangos to lose their linguistic identity enabled the Catholic Church to stop their assimilation into the Orthodox Church (National Anti-Corruption Agency – ANIC, Presidency of the Council of Ministers – Secret Service (Serviciul Special de Informaţii) file number: 63/1942, ff. 3-6.). As a result of these policies, Csangos were allowed neither to attend holy masses celebrated, nor to receive education, in their mother tongue.
During the course of attacks against the Churches, the Rumanian People’s Party used the Hungarian People’s Alliance, facilitating that a network of almost 40 Hungarian-language schools be established beginning in 1948 in the regions inhabited by Csangos; these schools were responsible for lessening the influence of the Church in the community. The schools were closed down gradually between 1953 and 1958.
The assimilation process was accelerated during the years of 1970–80 and the Csangos, who had declared themselves to be Hungarian, were persecuted by the Police and the Securitate.”

“I also hope that you agree with us that no person arriving from outside should instigate people, and it does not do any good if they destroy their conviction regarding their nationality or the language they speak. It would be a sign of great respect if we could trust in their statements, in their capability of maintaining their habits, keeping their faith and living in peace with everyone.
I disbelieve that it would render them a service in preserving their dialect or the language they speak when values other than what they feel and declare are offered from outside.”

We agree that people should not be instigated, but non-governmental organisations have the right to be active and to work in order to preserve and introduce these unique cultural values to the general public, since this dialect has been accepted in Europe, the Council of Europe adopted related report under number 1541 and also drew up some recommendations for the Rumanian State.
Failing to acknowledge their own history, their own values and roots would render these people unable to become equal citizens of this country and of the European Community. It would be a sign of great respect if we could trust that your statements are true and correct, and that your statements are not influenced by political regimes, the Mayor’s Office, the Police or the representatives of the Church. This dialect cannot be preserved otherwise than knowing the standard language and its values alike, and showing respect for the relevant choice of everyone.

“By the way, we have no “Csango Hungarian” congregation in the Diocese of Jászvásár, as opposed to what you claimed in your letter, but dioceses composed of Roman Catholic believers were always talking about. Consequently, it is our responsibility to serve our believers in the language they all know, respecting all other languages they use, being fully aware of that the Catholic Church is not attached to one or the other language, but considers them all as a gift from God.”

The Csango Hungarian Roman Catholic believers of the Diocese of Jászvásár on several occasions requested Hungarian-language service to be introduced in their communities, but these applications have not yet been fulfilled. For example, in the settlement of Pusztina, they have kept requesting it since 1991. On each occasion, these lists or individual applications were signed by at least 150-200 believers. It would be a sign of great respect if these applications received favourable treatment.
It would also be a solution if both the Church and the school forestalled these expectations. The number of cases analogues to those occurred in Szitás or in other villages would noticeably fall, and people would accept it as a natural thing, and this way no tension would arise among the members of the communities, either. It would be natural that Hungarian language classes are held at the school and holly masses are celebrated in Hungarian in the church. It would be an example for Europe.

“Furthermore, I believe that it is our duty – in addition to preserving traditions, cultural heritage and faith – to put an end to poverty in which many people live in our regions: bad roads, the lack of modern means required for the way of life due to human beings, the cultivation of land using primitive means of agriculture, the working far away from home undertaken under compulsion in order to earn a living for their families, as well as that it is difficult for them to get admitted to various schools and to receive any functions in today’s society etc. I am filled with sorrow and also concerned about this situation.”

Finally something where we have found a common denominator.

5 March 2009

Csilla Takács translated the article from a Hungarian language

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