Pope Pays Tribute to Eastern Rite Faithful

Pope John Paul II paid tribute to Romania’s Eastern Rite Catholics, victims of harsh treatment under communism, and said their tragic past could promote better ties with the Orthodox Church. The historic visit to Romania is the first by a pope to a mainly Orthodox country. He told a crowd in the ornate St. Joseph’s Church, one of three major Catholic churches in Bucharest, that Eastern Rite, or Greek, Catholics had endured “unimaginable sacrifices” when their faith was banned under communist rule. He recalled the fate of 12 Greek Catholic bishops who were slain, of persecuted priests and hundreds of thousands of believers who were forced to recant their faith or hold services in secret.