catholics-from-slovakia

"They were able to bear witness to their faith even in the difficult times of the forced closure of our church. The heroic testimony of the faith of our ancestors, to the point of martyrdom, and their intercession in heaven have contributed to the fact that in the Greek Catholic Church of Slovakia we are able to thank God for the abundance of priestly vocations."

"The evangelising mission of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius to the Slav peoples and to Great Moravia, enables us, in the course of Year of Faith, to question ourselves about the theme of evangelisation of modern cultures and the inculturation of the Gospel, starting from our ecclesial, liturgical and cultural reality, so that the message of love and the truth about humanity which Christ brings, while remaining always the same, may be welcomed."

"The Catholic community is not very big and in this rests its charm."

"Justice can only serve Truth: this is written on the palace of Justice in Bratislava. Courageous and honest Slovak men have fought throughout history for this justice. I do not ask for mercy: I simply appeal to the Truth, to the Law and to Justice. The injustices I have personally experienced can be forgotten. But I can never renounce Truth and Justice."

"Just as universal respect for "human rights" is frequently and rightly insisted upon in secular life today, we should also ensure that we satisfy the rights of the faithful with at least equal if not greater insistence. Jesus Christ has granted these rights to them, and in giving himself to them, he wants them to stay with him."

"Today Slovakia is an independent nation. But it experienced two world wars and its people, especially its Christians – were the victims of one of fiercest Communist persecutions from 1948 to 1989 when the regime collapsed. Bishops, clergy and laity were imprisoned, religious orders suppressed, diocesan seminaries closed, and Catholic organisations and press banned. Those were years of barbarism and terror. In 1989 we found our freedom once again."

"He was a Jesuit cardinal, persecuted by the regime, imprisoned, and sentenced to forced labor until he fell ill. When he came to Rome for the Jubilee of the Year 2000, he went to the catacombs and lit a candle for his persecutors, imploring mercy for them. This is the Gospel. It grows in life and in history through humble and patient love."

"I am very hopeful and optimistic because the communist system left a great, great spiritual vacuum in the people. The question is, will materialism fill this vacuum? The Church has to fill it with beliefs, principles and values. The Russians are very kind people, very friendly, very open-minded, but they are searching. If we don't fill them, they will find something else."

"I am confident that we all should strive in this direction: preserving our own identity, be ready and able to accept and positively assess the wealth of other nations and other religions. In this regard, Azerbaijan is a positive example for other countries."

"Liturgy in the Slovak Byzantine Church is actually at the centre of our whole spirituality. Liturgy is actually our heritage. You can see this in our Byzantine churches. This is the reason why it's our rite. In theology, this is what we have. We cannot take on an artificially new form, rather we will try to just go more deeply inside (the tradition). This is what's important for our Church."

"Those who knew him close up could only wonder at so much bitterness and admire his strength of mind and calm. I remember his deep extempore thinking in a meeting on the virtue of fortitude. It was his silent and dignified response to the unfair and base attacks. In our meetings within the Congregation, that – note well – still have the collegial method of proceeding, and in personal contacts we knew a different Ratzinger."

"If in certain countries and in certain groups of Europe there is a crisis of faith, this is not solved by the Churches of Europe folding up but with openness towards the universal mission."

"Faith in the Eucharist is not an easy faith. One cannot use the criterion of knowledge through contact or the experience of the Presence. It is pure faith. This is why I said that the Eucharist is "the testing ground of faith," of our faith. If there is no faith in the Eucharist it is because an approach is lacking to the mystery of the faith."

"After the so-called Velvet Revolution Slovakia became part of the Western Civilization, and along with a lot of good things, Christians here are confronted with problems such as relativism and materialism, but I think that a lot of people look forward to meeting the Pope."

"I think we can expect a great spiritual strengthening."

"I still feel like a Jesuit. And I am grateful for what I received from the Society of Jesus. I would like to say to all Jesuits: Thank you, brothers."

"The question [now] is how long will [Tiso’s] political convictions and especially his conscience as a priest let him march hand in hand with the National Socialist masters. Naturally, he does not like to do it, but is only compelled by circumstances. He is convinced, or at least he hopes, that if he stays in power then he can protect what he can and that, in putting into effect National Socialist methods, it will not come to extreme consequences. Only later will it be possible to judge if he calculated correctly."

"...We bow to the closest Slav, brother Czech, to apply our sovereignty as a small nation together with him in the common state. We are ready to stand guard over its life and to lay all the sacrifices on its altar. (...) However, we should be aware that our sovereignty is applied within the scope defined by the common agreement, otherwise, we have to apply a principle: a nation is more than a state."

"People ask whether what is being done with the Jews is Christian. Is it human? Is it not robbery? ... I ask is it Christian when the nation wants to free itself from its eternal enemy—the Jew? ... Love of self is a command from God, and this love of self commands me to remove ... everything that damages me or that threatens my life. I don't think I need to convince anyone that the Jewish element threatened the lives of Slovaks. ... It would have looked even worse if we hadn't pulled ourselves together in time, if we hadn't purged them from us. And we did so according to divine command: Slovak, cast off your parasite."

"It is interesting how this little Catholic priest—Tiso—is sending us the Jews!"

"Everyone understands that the Holy See cannot stop Hitler. But who can understand that it does not know how to rein in a priest?"