Prof. Violeta Barbu (Bucureşti)
Biserica şi provocările secularismului: corpul şi etica lui
Body and ethics stands at the intersection of moral theology, anthropology, sociology and even culture in the broad sense of the term. In this article, Professor Violeta Barbu presents an anthropological perspective, the issue of body and of ethics, which has undergone many changes over the past five decades. Starting from the presentation of the Christian vision of the body during history, from St. Paul’s anthropology to the theology of the body of John Paul II, is now revealed the rift between body and soul that evolved to highlight the growing body in society and acquiring an overly important role. One common fronts of the Christian worldview and post-modern, but also a bone of contention, is the importance of body health and off-line medical and ethical
biology. However, two problems are analyzed morally and socially,  euthanasia(mercy killing) and abortion. In conclusion, Prof. Violeta Barbu includes all processes related to the ethical vision issues associated body and the phenomenon of secularization, a phenomenon increasingly entering in our country.

Mons. Marcelo Sorondo (Vatican, Italia)
Secularizarea provocată de ştiinţă
In this article, the author examines the biblical verse „Veritas vos liberavit” – “The truth will set you free” and the pastoral challenges and strategies in the secularization of the Church. The reference point in this study is the relationship between faith and reason, the ratio between them, being two forms of evangelization: from faith to reason, and from reason to faith. Based on this report, the author talks about the conflict between the objective and philosophical reflection in the human practice. In first place, Msgr. M. Sorondo analyzed the neurological sciences and self-interpretation, then talks about conflict in the brain, the mind, the soul and being, and finally to refer the issue of evolution and creation for human beings as a third place of conflict. In the treatment of the subject, the author makes use of both the Bible and the Magisterium of the Church, but also from different philosophers in different periods of history.

Pr. Conf. Dr. Ştefan Lupu (Iaşi)
L’eredità spirituale del beato John Henry Card. Newman
In this article it is analyzed the life and the activity of the Cardinal Newman and also a few theological ideas. In the first part of the article, the author refers on the life of the Cardinal, his spiritual life in different phases of his conversion. First he was a protestant converted to the Evangelic Church, then to the Anglican Church, and finally reached to the Catholic Church. In the second part of the article, Pr. Stefan Lupu presents Newman’s view on holiness, starting from the motto printed on his emblem as Cardinal: Cor ad cor loquitur – Heart speaks to heart. There are presented the Newman’s notions on the necessity of holiness, both on the concrete one and the offered one, then on holiness as challenge, and finally on the personal holiness in Newman’s theology. At the end of the article, it is analyzed the sanctity of Newman, declared Blessed by the Pope Benedict the XVIth on 19th September 2010.

Pr. Lect. Dr. Tarciziu Şerban (Iaşi)
Profilul „omului nou” în scrisoarea către Efeseni
Starting from the Saint Paul’s Epistle to Ephesians, the author of the dissertation analyzed the profile of the Newman as it is exposed by the Apostle to the Gentiles. The premise is the model offered by the people of present time, people of an impeccable moral behavior and of a strong faith, who are now saints. In the first part of this article, there is presented the metaphoric language from Ef 6,10-20, that is the Saint Paul’s way to present the spiritual fight of the Christian, by comparing it with a triumphal battle of a very well equipped soldier. In the second part, there are a few metaphoric notions, which sketched a profile of the addressees of the St. Paul’s Epistle to Ephesians, asking them to acquire the four virtues enumerated in the vv. 14-16 of the same chapter. In Conclusions, the author shows how the two semantic levels – metaphorical and metaphorised – joined and build a message.

Card. Zenon Grocholewski (Vatican, Italia)
Adevăr şi libertate. O problemă fundamentală
In the allocution presented in the occasion of receiving the title of Doctor honoris causa from the University „Al.I. Cuza” of Iaşi, his Eminence Card. Zenon Grocholewski analyzed the fundamental problem of today’s society, the one of truth and liberty. In the beginning, the author notices that man, by his unique nature, aspires to these two great values, interconnected values, because the fidelity to truth determines the exercise of liberty, and this not only theoretically but also practically, in action, fact that leads to conquer the true human and social progress. Our model, worthy to be followed is Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of truth which liberates man. As the author mentions, Christian freedom assumes two valences: to follow the Christ and vivere in conspectu Dei. After analyzing liberty in the relation with the law of Decalogue, the Cardinal Grocholewski presents the figure of the Christ, who is truth, love and the new law for umanity; that is why only the Eucharist is the „food for the hungry man seeking for truth and liberty”.

Prof. Dr. Flavio Pajer (Roma, Italia)
Educaţia religioasă între identităţi confesionale, dialog interreligios şi spiritualităţi confesionale
The theme of this article is the religious education, seen in the view of the religious identity, of the interreligious dialogue and of the secular spirituality, in the context of a multicultural and globalized word. In the first part of the article, the author analyzed the religious identity in front of the “different”, identity that is considered to be more fragile. That is why, in the second part, he is asking what kind of identity has to be promoted in a pluralist context, trying to give an answer to this important question of our society. In the third part, Prof. Flavio Pajer shows that public education has to be like a chamber of dialogue, a stimulus for living together, which does not lead to uniformity, but rather to responsibility. Finally, there are exposed the new religious competences necessary for living in pluralism.

Pr. Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Dancă (Iaşi)
Biserica şi Statul la Mons. Anton Durcovici
Starting from eighteen declarations of Msgr. Anton Durcovici in the prison of the Ministry of Interior Affairs from Bucureşti, pr. prof. Wilhelm Dancă analyses the relation between Church and State as it result from the declarations of the Bishop of Iasi, underlining the problem of secularism. The author’s intention is to discover how Anton Durcovici opposed to the invasion of the State-Party in the life of the Church, analyzing firstly the soviet archetypal of relation between Church and State, archetypal where there is a difference between status de iure (separation between Church and State and School) and status de facto (the pressings on the Catholic and Orthodox Church), and in the second part the implementation of this model to the Romanian area conforming to his declarations from prison; from this declarations results that the great preoccupation of the communist regime in the period 1947-1948 was to eliminate the presence of the Catholic Church from the public life. In conclusion, the author  mentions that the motivation received from Msgr. Anton Durcovici in front of secularization and secularism can be characterized through two words: education and charity.

Pr. Prof. Dr. Eduard Ferenţ (Iaşi)
Strigătul unui păstor patern în vederea evanghelizării credincioşilor săi
Through a dogmatic approach to the theme of secularism, pr. prof. Edward Ferenţ analyzed the context and the coordinates of the evangelization as it is seen by the Second Council of Vatican and by the first bishop of Iasi, Nicolae Iosif Camilli, and then is looking for an answer that is given by secularism to the new evangelization of people from the third millennium. Firstly, starting from the documents of the Second Council of Vatican, the author shows which is the social context of the new evangelization – secularization of the human life, that is the removal of people from God. Then the author exposes the coordinates of the evangelization of the first Shepherd of the Dioceses of Iasi, Bishop N.I. Camilli, presenting the paternal shout of this bishop as it is presented in a discourse addressed to the Catholics from Paris. Finally, the author, starting from the text of the bishop of Iasi, shows that even in that time the Dioceses of Iasi intended to answer to secularization through a new evangelization of man. In conclusion, pr. prof. E. Ferenţ shows what the new evangelization should defend: identity of the Christ, the primacy of the Kingdom and the centrality of salvation, the identity of the church, the Sacramental identity of the church, and the human dignity.

Alexandru Zub
Aspecte spirituale în închisorile regimului comunist
The resistance to the oppression and the moral survival in the prisons of the  communist regime were rooted especially on faith, no matter the confession, and the confessional membership was not an impediment for the dialogue and the  fraternal cohabitation. Despite the immense bibliography, the author evokes in this article only some examples from an enormous casuistic whose analysis is just at the beginning. In the first part of this article, there are mentioned a series of memorials studies and the modalities of recuperating the data from the communist period which highlighted especially the horrors, the cruelty, the actions of that system. In the second part there are presented the examples of the people who had the tragic destiny through supporting the Calvary of the detention.

Eduard Ferenţ
Apărarea identităţii noastre creştine, prilej de maturizare umană şi spirituală
History was and remains Mater et magistra. It teaches always while the world is elder and elder, while the faith in God darkens and the morality of the society softens. It teaches that, while the fervor of life debilitates, God as the permanent Lord of the humanity, in the mystery of his goodness, raises new personalities, because he is being concerned with both the strengthening of the faith and the reforming of the conduct of the society. In this article, Fr. Eduard Ferenţ emphasizes the events and the personalities who evoke the spirit and the mentality of the predecessors. In this mentality can be remarked that during the recent history the vivid need to defense the human and the Christian identity determined many people to resist even with the sacrifice of their own life. This resistance constitutes the moment of the maturation as human being and Christians.

Emil Dumea
Biserică şi stat în România contemporană
In this article, Fr. Emil Dumea synthesizes the relationship between the Romanian state and the Church in the XX-th century. Through mentioning the constitutional disposals after the creation of modern Romanian state and the adoption of its first constitution, the one from 1866, till nowadays legislation, the author classifies the confessions in Romania, on the first place being the Orthodox Church, because of the majority of population, which are orthodox, and the common development of the institutions of the Orthodox Church and the progressive history of the modern Romanian state forming, from the Middle Age till today. The juridical history of Romania highlights the continuous braiding between the two institutions: that is why the Romanian Orthodox Church maintains a privileged position and the state defenses and promotes its interests.

Dănuţ Doboş
Justiţia politică şi „vinovăţia” de a fi catolic în anii regimului comunist
In the last years the Historical Research Department of the Roman-Catholic Bishopric approached a series of themes from the recent history, especially from the period 1948-1964, which coincided with the years of the Stalinist regime of Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej. In this article, Dănuţ Doboş, member of this department, resumed the work and the results concerning these themes, obtained through the analysis of the discovered archive documents. The author reaches the conclusion that the victims of the communist regime are not anymore perceived as exemplar for the whole word. The justice closed the chapter of the juridical public rehabilitation; the authorities and the public opinion ignore them; the same thing can be said about the historical books and the new generations; there are some voices tributary to the past time which dishonest their memory, amplifying the crimes whose culpable is the communist Security.

Violeta Barbu
Memoria totalitarismului dintr-o perspectivă catolică. O dezbatere istorică
As an anthropological experience of the transitory things, memory depends on the concrete significations of the transfer from a generation to the other generation. Prof. Violeta Barbu wishes to stress the discrepancies which exist between the catholic perspective and the secularist one concerning the memory of totalitarianism of XX century, with its two faces, fascism and communism. In the first part of the article, the author mentions and analyses the classical approaches of the political philosophy of some notorious authors, e.g. Hannah Arendt, Thomas Mann, Walderman Gurian and so on. In the first part also there is broached the history of the conceptions about the two types of totalitarianism beginning with the time of the Cold War till today. In the second part, the author affirms that the model of the political philosophy of a unique totalitarianism with two faces relied on the historic differences has to be re-dimensioned according with the European cultural model of diversity, known as a defining factor of the identity of the reunited Europe. This cultural model was underlined by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church through the encyclical letters of the Pope John Paul II. Also there are highlighted some historical contributions of the Pope.

Ioan Mitrofan
După 20 de ani. Evidenţe şi ocultări ale persecuţiei Bisericii Greco-Catolice Române Unite cu Roma din 1948 şi până astăzi
Fr. Ioan Mitrofan sustains in this study the cause of his Church, persecuted during its relative short history of 300 years. The first part of this study represents a systematic division in periods of this history, whose purpose is to underline that Greek-Catholic Church from Romania is an institution with history full of events, even if not always happy, especially in the second part of the last century when participated to the great competition of the resistance against the communist system imposed in the Central and Eastern Europe, together with the other United Churches, persecuted in the same way, together with the Roman-Catholic Church with the national nuance. The author is not as historian, but a witness of the recent history of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church. In the second part there is debated the problem of the dialogue between the Roman-Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, between the Greek-Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Then, the author presents the positive aspects of the liberation from communism for the Greek-Catholic Church. Finally, the author describes his activity as priest in the time of the communist dictatorship.

George Enache
Berdiaev şi comunismul
In this article, the author proposes for discussion the reasons of the Church persecution in the communist epoch, and the contradictions from the communist ideology, underlined by the Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdiaev (1874-1948), who in his writings dealt with the philosophy of the religions. The fight of the communists against Christendom signified a crumbling of the spiritual flush from their beings, and this fact encouraged them to change the face of the whole world, because by destroying the roots poked in the Christian past, they wanted to create a mechanic and atheist world. A disputable detail of this article constitutes the definition of the Church as emanation of divinity, as a result of a divine-human process. The term “Church” has two different meanings: on one hand, it is the mystic body of the Christ and his spiritual reality, and, on the other hand, a social phenomenon and a social institution related to state, they existing together and having their own right and economy.

Adrian Petcu
Strategii ale Patriarhului Justinian Marina pentru organizarea şi dezvoltarea monahismului ortodox în perioada comunistă
The monastic problem which started with the reform of the prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza who asked the monasteries to have no land propriety, devastated the monasteries, so, at the beginning of XX century, there remained only some monasteries which hardly functioned. After the Second World War, at he beginning of the installation of the communist regime, an important role concerning the solution of this problem had the patriarch Justinian Marina. The study of Adrian Nicolae Petcu aims to underline the function of the patriarch in organizing and developing the Orthodox monasticism in the communist period. Even if was seen as a collaborator of the communist party, patriarch Justinian Marina deluded every appearance through the reforms he applied in order to resuscitate the orthodox monastic spirit and to form an elite staff among the monks who constituted the future army of the orthodox monasticism.

Wilhelm Dancă
Rugăciunea şi căderea comunismului în România
The wonder which took place in December 1989, so how defined Doina Cornea, a notorious personality of the Romanian anticommunist resistance, the events of that year, represents a victory of the spiritual values on the materialist and atheist ideals. In this article, Rev. Wilhelm Dancă proposes, following the profile of this personality, a clear understanding of the term “wonder” related to the events from December 1989. Employing the memories of some heroes of the anticommunist resistance and evoking his personal memories, Rev. Wilhelm Dancă wishes to underline the contribution of the spiritual factor, especially the one of the pray, to the fall of communism. That is why, he analyses this factor in three different perspectives: prayer as form of resistance against the evil, prayer as a gateway from a closed world and prayer as the space of meeting God himself. For the Catholic Church, the life during the communist time was like a day at sunset which was not ending any more. But the quotidian physical and spiritual sacrifices of our good lay people and priests prepared the happiness of regaining the freedom.

Editorial

Wilhelm Dancă:
Rezistenţa anticomunistă prin valori spirituale
The Roman-Catholic Bishopric, the Roman-Catholic Theological Institute and the „Al. I. Cuza” University of Iaşi organized on the 10-th and 11-th of December 2009 an International Symposium gathering Church representatives from almost all the former communist countries. The participants at this Symposium evoked facts and models from the recent history of East and Central Europe concerning the anti-communist resistance through spiritual values.
In his Editorial, after the presentation of the premises of this symposium, Fr. Wilhelm Dancă has focused his attention on the main concepts of each presentation, classifying the conferences in three categories: those concerning the resistance of clergymen, then, the resistance of laypeople and, finally, the conferences containing systematic, theoretical aspects, for example those about the various nuances of the relation between Church and State, the different meanings of the anti-communist opposition, the local and distinct spiritual instruments of the anti-communist resistance. Due to the specific content of papers and the big number of pages, it were given to the spiritual values as ways of anti-communist resistance two numbers of Dialog teologic, i.e. 24 and 25.

MESAJE

† Angelo Card. Sodano
Credinţa este patrimoniul ce trebuie păstrat şi răspândit
In his message, Card. Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, enjoys the initiative of this Symposium, reminding the spiritual factor as the main factor of the anti-communist resistance, and the others factors, for example the deep faith of the Christians, sustained by the testimony of Pastors of the Catholic Church. Concerning this aspect, Card. Angelo Sodano was inspired by one of the discourses of Pope John Paul II visiting Romania in 1999.

† Stanislaw Card. Dziwisz
Rolul Papei Ioan Paul al II-lea în schimbările din 1989
In his letter from 30 October 2009, written in Krakow, Card. S. Dziwisz expresses his intention to propose the pontificate of John Paul II as a reference point of the changes that took place at the same time with the fall of communism. He underlines the teaching of this Pope, teaching focused on the Christ, on the moral solidarity as a result of the death and the resurrection of Christ, on the Christian roots of Europe and the spiritual unity of Christian Europe.

† Miloslav Card. Vlk
Cristos răstignit e puterea creştinilor persecutaţi
Miloslav Card. Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, shares some personal experiences of the time of communist regime. He describes the period when he was part of the groups of Christian who decided to live surreptitious in communion with the Church; he reminds that his state license was retired, that is why he could not practice in public his priesthood, becoming a refugee, and how he found his true identity of priest testifying that the secret of his strength was the crucified and abandoned Christ, whom he found in sufferance and pains.

† Lucian Mureşan
Am ales „lauda” crucii lui Isus
„But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal 6,14). Through this verse, Msgr. Lucian Mureşan, describes his activity as Major Archbishop of the Greek-Catholic Church United with Rome. On the other hand, he speaks about the crucified Greek-Catholic Church during the communist regime and about the bishop Márton Áron, who helped him to enter the Theological Seminary of Alba-Iulia. At the end of his message, the author manifests his gratitude for the Cyrenians, the brothers from the Roman-Catholic Church, who helped the Catholic Romanians of the oriental rite to bear the Cross of the true faith.

CONFERINŢE

† Ioan Robu
Mărturisirea credinţei în istoria recentă a Arhidiecezei Romano-Catolice de Bucureşti
The communist period was very difficult for the Church, a period full both of dramatics, of heroic and martyr acts, and of a patent adversity against the Catholic Church, manifested through many actions: the unilateral denunciation of the Concordat between Romania and the Holy See, the ban of the Greek-Catholic Church, the closing of seminaries and of others Catholic schools. In this article, Msgr. Ioan Robu intends to bring homage to all the fighters for the defense of faith in the Archdioceses of Bucharest, especially during the hard period from 1948 to 1964. This article starts by explaining the implicit appearance of some forms of anticommunist resistance. Then the author presents his predecessors at the leadership of the archiepiscopate of Bucharest, Alexandru Theodor Cisar, Iosif Schubert and Anton Durcovici. Also, there are recalled priests and laypeople; the author thanks to all these persons who offered a material and spiritual help to the Catholic communities, even from exile. Finally, the author congratulates the organizers of this Symposium, underlining the value of the sacrifice of the martyrs from the communist epoch in our memory.

† Zelimir Puljic
Alois Card. Stepinac – un erou exemplar din rândul mulţilor Păstori eroi
In this article Želimir Puljić, bishop of Dubrovnik, presents the figure of the Croat martyr Alojzije Stepinac. There are pointed out some biographical data of the Croat Cardinal and then is exposed the activity of the martyr in the period of the Nazis and Fascist occupation. The bishop Puljić continues with the presentation of the attitude of Stepinac concerning the communist power, established after the Second World War. The guiding principle of the Croat martyr was „frangar non flectar”. The pastoral work of the cardinal Stepinac and, also, of his priests, according to the cardinal’ words, have been carried on into a „bloodbath”. Besides the letter of the Croat bishops against the crimes of the communist, the author of this article exposes shortly also the process of the Cardinal Stepinac from 1946. The article ends with the words of the Pope John Pope II, uttered in the day of the beatification of Stepinac, on 3 October 1998. „The person of the blessed Alojzije Stepinac”, writes Msgr. Želimir Puljić, „represents for all of us a reference point and we have to look at him in order to take a guide and to sustain ourselves”.

† Petru Gherghel
Familia creştină, bastion al rezistenţei în faţa dictaturii şi a ateismului
Starting with the biblical roots of family, the Book of Genesis and the words of Jesus Christ, and also the teaching of saint Paul about the mystery of matrimony, Msgr. Petru Gherghel desires to remind some truths which represent the basis of the Christian life and which were a guiding point during the resistance against the attacks of ideologies opposite to the divine will. Being a sanctuary of love, the family knew very well to oppose resistance against the „red invasion” and the terrible communist dictatorship. Unfortunately, after 1989, for the Christian family began a new Calvary caused by the attack of many difficulties. Because of many social, spiritual, economical and political problems today is overlooked the care for the family’s unity and for the indissolubility of matrimony; that is why is so necessary to rediscover the true values of the family and to re-establish the family, because the future of the world depends on the true Christian families.

† Anton Coşa
Rezistenţa catolicilor în timpul persecuţiei bolşevicilor în actuala Republică Moldova
The bishop of Kishinev, Msgr. Anton Coşa, speaks about the „forget land… on the others side of Prut”, which, as the others regions from de Eastern Europe, suffered a lot because of communism. The author exposes the situation of Catholic Church from the Moldavian RSS in the interwar period and from the Moldavian RSS, in the years 1940-1941, when Bessarabia was firstly occupied by the soviet troops, and after the year 1944, when Bessarabia was annexed again to the Soviet Union. Besides the general presentation of the Catholicism from the two regions of the actual Moldavian Republic (Transnistria and Bessarabia), the bishop Anton Coşa makes an analysis of the Catholic parishes from the region, for example Kishinev, Tighina, Râbniţa and so on. And, due to the fact that history is made by people, there are not forgot the priests who worked in these periods in Bessarabia, for example Ioan Hondru, Nicolae Şciurek, Bronislav Hodanenok, Vladislav Zavalniuc „whose faith testimony cannot be forget by the Catholic Church in Moldavian Republic”.

Stefano Monolov
Martiriul catolicilor din Bulgaria în timpul socialismului
Msgr. Stefano Monolov presents the martyrdom of Catholic people in Bulgaria during the socialist regime. Firstly, the author exposes shortly the beginning time of communist persecution against the Christians in URSS, and then in others countries of Eastern Europe. The first victims of the communist terror in Bulgaria were Orthodox and Protestants people, the persecution against Catholic Church starting just in 1949. Besides the negative attitude of the Bulgarian communist authorities concerning Vatican, the author presents also the new situation of Catholic people of Bulgaria, especially the imprisonments of bishops and priests. In this study, Msgr. Monolov presents the destiny of Bishop Eugen Bossilkov and of the priests Kamen Vičev, Pavel Džidžov and Iosafat Šiškov, whose assassination was discovered after the fall of the Berlin Wall; they were beatified by Pope John Paul II on 22 May 2002. These Bulgarian martyrs and many others people are witness of the Gospel, a Gospel which is every time a choice of life, not of death.

Tadeusz Rostworowski
De la Wyszyński la Ioan Paul al II-lea, drumul spre libertate. Primatul cardinal Ştefan Wyszyński
The Catholic Church in Poland during the time of communist regime owes a lot to the activity of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski. In the first audience addressed to the Pollens after his appointment as Pope, John Paul the II highlighted the qualities of Wyszynski, underlining his big contribution to the formation of the future Pope. Starting with these considerations, Fr. Tadeusz presents in his article a reflection on the theological dimension of Cardinal Wyszynski’s life, manifested by his faith in defending human and civil rights of the Christians. The visible sign of his patrimony is his Episcopal motto: Soli Deo per Mariam. After exposing the Cardinal Wyszynski’s life, the author describes the meaning of John Paul II’s pontificate, his fight against the communist regime in Poland. Finally, there is underlined the necessity to open the human heart and mind before the light of the Christ.

Juraj Batelja
Fericitul Alojzije Stepinac, martir al unităţii Bisericii
In this article, Msgr. Juraj Batelja speaks about the life of the former Bishop of Zagreb, the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac (1898-1960), as martyr of Christ during the time of communist dictatorship. His strong and courageous position, his stimulus for the perseverance of the laypeople and of the priests in the loyalty for the Catholic Church, attracted the contempt of the communists; that is why he was imprisoned and died in prison as a martyr of Jesus Christ. His last words were: Fiat voluntas tua. Underlining these aspects and the persecution suffered by the Church in Croatia, the author desires to highlight the Catholic Church’s destiny of his Mother Land, which is similar to the one of both the Roman-Catholic and the Greek Catholic Church in Romania.

Stanislav Balik
Biserica Catolică din Cehia în timpul comunismului
The author explains in his article the situation of the Catholic Church in Czech Republic during the time of communist regime. The historical data of this article places the communist regime in Czech Republic among the most atheist and most persecuting regimes. Exemplifying with statistics, Prof. Stanislav Balik argues the extermination of the Church in Czech Republic with the persecutions against the priests, bishops and monks. The big number of martyrs shows the fighting character of the Church. Besides these aspects, the author underlines a negative aspect: the collaborationism. Up to the decree of the Pope John Paul the II-nd „Quidam episcopi” (1983), which banned the priests to be part of the political organizations, many priests were placed on the list of these organizations in order to receive various advantages. After 1983, even if many priest followed the direction of the Pope, some of them remained members of these organizations till 1989. Finally, the author relates about the fall of the communist regime in Czech Republic. This fall began in Vatican, with the canonization of the Czech princess Anežka of Bohemia, which took place five days before the Velvet revolution; in fact, an old legend says that when this princess shall be canonized, there would be started the favorable times in Czech land.

Iosif Svidnitskyi
Mărturia Bisericii Catolice din Ucraina în timpul prigoanei comuniste
The communist period represented a time of persecution also for the Catholic Church which was living in the territory of the present Ukraine. The main reason of this persecution was the misunderstanding of the politic of Vatican by the communist authorities and its clumsy interpretation made by Stalin. In the first part of this article, the author speaks about some premises of the persecution against the Church in Ukraine, and then there is described the development of this kind of persecution. In the last part of the article, there are mentioned some martyrs and it is underlined the importance of their death for the Church’s life. Their sacrifice, says the author, will be not forgot, because the Church survived after the bloody persecutions enacted by the communist regime and, thanks to the blood of the martyrs, it was strengthened to face with reaffirmed vigor the challenges of the XXI century.

Gabor Harmai
Catolicii maghiari şi fidelitatea faţă de valorile spirituale în timpul regimului comunist  
At the beginning of his article, Prof. Gabor Harmai speaks about the general situation of Hungary during the communist period and then exposed the „last data” of the violence against the Church: the last process with the condemnation of the Church people which took place in 1961. The three guiding principles of the Christians concerning the communist persecutions were: Παρρησία, the courage to come closer, Πεποίθησις, the perfect confidence, Πίστις, the faith in God. The central figure of this article is the Cardinal Mindszenty; there is also presented the anticommunist resistance of other Hungarian Catholic people, for example the auxiliary bishop of Estergom, Zoltan Meszlény, Mons. Bulányi, Mons. Jósef Rédei. There were not forgot the attempts of the communist authorities to create a Hungarian national Church.

Josef Makarczyk
Ioan Paul al II-lea şi Biserica Catolică din Bielorusia
The Church during the pontificate of the Pope John Paul II lived such a power that the world of the politic never revealed. The pilgrim Pope, fortified by the strength of his faith, contributed to the fall of communist systems. In this article, the author tries to underline the merits of John Paul II concerning the restoration of the Church in Belarus. After the presentation of some statistics concerning the number of parishes, laypeople and priests, the article focused on the Pope’s acts whose aim was the religious rebirth of Belarus. The today Church in Belarus is on the way of the self confidence and of the forming of its own tradition, based on the precursors’ legacy.

Wilhelm Dancă
Educaţia ca armonie între credinţă şi cultură, astăzi
Faith and reason are the two wings that raise man to know God. Extrapolating this motto of the Church Magisterium, Wilhelm Danca presents in the “Editorial” of our theological review its direct implications in the field of the culture and of the education in the Catholic school. After a succinct exposition of the statistics concerning the nowadays situation of the Catholic schools from Europe and Romania, the author presents the “lights and darkness” that can be discerned behind these numbers suggesting then the fundamental characteristics which make up or devolve from the identity of “Catholic school”. Thus, replying to the exigencies of the integral humanism, the Catholic school and, especially, the educating community have to be centred on the human person, whom they have to offer real wisdom and life vision, without making social or economical discrimination. Finally, the author expresses his conviction that the achievement of these exigencies depends on the bishop of the place who looks after the members of the teachers’ community.

Wilhelm Dancă
Pentru promovarea valorilor etice şi spirituale în activităţile economice
The Roman-Catholic Institute „Saint Joseph” of Iaşi and the Confederation Caritas Romania organized in 16 and 17 April 2008 a symposium with the theme „Humans and the market”, whose aim was to indicate the way of announcing the Gospel in the economical area from our country. In this Editorial, Wilhelm Dancă, after illustrating the context and the opportunity of this cultural event, summarizes the main ideas which were often underlined both during the conferences and in the horizon of the questions addressed by the participants. These essential ideas are: the role of the lay Christians in applying the Gospel’s principles in society, the necessity of the profound reforms in the field of the institutions and of the economical practices, the relation between ethics and economical activities. At the end of this article, Wilhelm Dancă reminds the name of the authors who contributed to this number 21 of the review Dialog Teologic, where are included other three articles about the Pope Paul VI’ legacy regarding the doctrine of the letter encyclical Humanae vitae.COMUNICĂRI Card. Raffaele Renato Martino
Compendiul de Doctrină Socială a Bisericii
In October 2004, the Pontifical Council Justitia et pax published the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. This document sketches in an unitary framework and in a synthetically way the Social teaching of the Church which is the result of the magisterial reflection and of the permanent involvement of the Church in defending the principles of the Gospel. In this study the author exposes briefly why it was necessary this document, the questions and the challenges addressed to the theologians who wrote it, the principles which uphold the doctrine we read in it: person’s pre-eminence and dignity, the principles of common good, solidarity and subsidiarity. In the conclusion, the author expresses his conviction that the social doctrine is unbreakably united with charity which God manifested toward the people and which we imitate in the reciprocal relations. This teaching does not represent an abstraction, but a principle which tries also today to create a civilization of love.

Bartolomeo Sorge, SJ
Dimensiunea etică în economia contemporană potrivit magisteriului social
Along the centuries, mankind has passed through many crises that it has surpassed, but which have marked its identity. Today mankind is registering a period characterized by the economical, moral or axiological depression. In this article, Bartolomeo Sorge is tackling this topical theme, embracing Church’s specific method: to see – to consider – to act. In the first part of this approach, the author exposes the phenomenology of the nowadays economical slump, which has global repercussions. We are present today at a structural slump, which is different from the random one, because it changes culture, values and institutions. Quid agendum? The author proposes two solutions: the industrial units reform and the social state’s reform. Even if in the study there are marked some negative aspects, its message transmits an impulse of hope, because behind the new challenges the author infers occasions of making progress.

Mons. Ioan Robu
Salariul just şi condiţiile de unitate ale familiei în doctrina socială a Bisericii
„The just wage” has occupied very important place in the social Magisterium of the Church. The social sciences and especially the economical ones have dealt in great detail with this notion. In this article, Msgr. Ioan Robu exposes the inherent implications of the just wage’s notion as it results from the social doctrine from the encyclical letters of Popes, starting with Rerum novarum (1891) of the Pope Leo XIII. The main principles of the social doctrine concerning the just wage are: work is „personal” because it is human and useful to the human person, and remuneration received for it is the legitimate, proportional and inalienable fruit of work. In the context of nowadays lack of poise, which marks the global market, these principles of the moral social theology represent operative solutions which defend the dignity of the human person, but which can be applied in the international economy.

Wilhelm Dancă
Omul şi economia de piaţă astăzi
There is a strong relation between the human phenomenon and the economical systems, because these systems aim, even if it’s succeeded just partly, to serve the human being and to be measured by the human dignity. Starting from this inner deficiency of every economical system, the author of this study pleads for the permanent humanization of the business activities, presenting some principles of the social doctrine of the Church with regard to the economical sphere. Also, the study underlines the complex situation of the market in Romania and it offers as solution of the clarifying the grey framework of the economy these two ways: to create the human conditions of the development in the light of the Magisterium of the Church and to follow the brilliant example of the Canadian Robert Ouimet which combines ethics and profit in developing industrial unit. Finally, the author expresses his hope in a new Christian humanism which can configure a business world founded both on development and welfare, and on solidarity, charity and culture.

Petre Semen
Protejarea claselor defavorizate. Grija faţă de bătrâni
The respect and the care of own parents are stipulated by the Fourth Commandment of God. But this aspect belongs to the system which gave a special attention to all persons, to the system in which being old man did not represent a depreciatory connotation, but it was the expression of the distinctive venerability. About these aspects treats the author of this study, who wishes to expose which was the vision about the care of this social category in the Israelite society and which is the biblical thinking about the respect toward parents. The first part exposes the family and the political tasks of the old persons and the duties of the young people who respected their parents thanks to the respect for God. Jesus did not abolish these stipulations, but perfected them. Today, when the differences between generations seem to become a real opposition, the Holly Scriptures remind us about God’s favourite presence in parents and in the poor people.

Iosefina Cristina Loghin
Bogat în Uniunea Europeană şi sărac în România?
On the 1-st January 2007, thanks to its progress on the social and the economical sphere, Romania entered the European Union. In spite of this adhering de iure, in the concrete reality it can be noticed obvious discrepancies between the Romanian economical system and the one of the other European states. The study of Cristina Loghin aims to present the situation of poverty or wealth of some categories of age from Romania. The first analyzed category is the area of old persons who become more numerous and need special care. Then the author illustrates the situation of the employed persons and of the children who live in towns or in villages. Against the unfairness which affects these social categories, it is necessary to apply the Christian principles of justice and charity, which are useful even today in order to build a better world.

Giani Manzone
Expansiunea pieţei şi monetarizarea vieţii
In Europe and in the world market is not anymore a marginal institution, but became a central aspect of the contemporary society. The study of Msgr. Giani Manzone tries to illustrate that this development of marketing has limits. Market can bring flowering, the social and the democratic development, but can represent a danger when it consider the human history only in the angle of utility. The objective critic that the author brings to the mercantile civilization has not a polemical purpose, but aims to prepare the elaboration of a new political project in conformity with the exigencies of the human dignity.

Ursula Nothelle-Wildfeuer / Gerhard Steger
Mesajul social papal şi raportul său cu economia de piaţă de la „Rerum novarum” la „Deus caritas est”
Starting with Rerum novarum, in the papal social Magisterium we find declarations about the main pre-requisites of liberalism and of the market economy. These interventions are the expressions of its care of the people’s redemption. About these aspects speak the authors of this study, which starts by presenting the evolution of Church’s involvement in the area of the social thought through the papal letters. In these documents are concrete points of contact with the principles of market economy: private property, freedom in contracting and the fair competition. The article finishes by affirming Church’s duty of rousing the spiritual forces of justice and charity, even today, in the context of the global changes.

Ioan Vicovan
Lucrarea slujitoare a Bisericii. Modele şi repere ale filantropiei Bisericii Ortodoxe Române în trecut şi astăzi
Diakonia and philanthropy represent two specific features of the primary Church and of the Church during the centuries. Today, when the materialist outlook influences the people to gather more money and properties, the study of Ioan Vicovan proposes to discover the theology of the Holly Fathers of the Church. That is why in his article the author presents both their teaching concerning charity and the concrete their working which stresses their testimony: hospitality, alms, donations and the hospitals. Finally the author identifies the institution of philanthropy from the past and from the present time of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which tried and is trying to celebrate in this way the „Mass after the Mass” for the poor people.

Antoine Sondag
Statul, piaţa şi al treilea sector. Perspective asupra darului şi a gratuităţii
In the market economy, founded on the principle of the maximum profit and of the direct competition it is difficult to apply the doctrine of gratuitousness, which in the economical sphere, is an unjustified loss. And yet, Antoine Sondag says that people, except the material needs, which economy can satisfy, has also relational and spiritual needs. That is why economy has to accept that it is limited. Through gifts there are created relationships and through gratuitousness can be built a society; economy can not create society but requires it. Only by extending this sector of gift and of gratuitousness, Christians can promote the equilibrium in society and in market.

Egidiu Condac
Necesităţile locale şi politicile globale
A very important principle of the Church’s social doctrine is subsidiarity; this principle regulates the relation between inferior and superior, between global and local. In the context of globalization respecting this principle is an acute necessity. About this reality speaks Egidiu Condac in his article, which starts by presenting the old anticipations of globalization in Church’s feature of universality. In parallel of this „confessional” globalization, the contemporary society promotes an economical one, which influences people, families and culture. This process often ignores the local needs of states, causing the appearance of an opposition between globalization and localism. In order to surpass this detrimental situation, at the end of this article the author proposes some solutions: the strategies which defend the common good, the knowledge of the local necessities, the communications between global and local.

Anton Carpinschi
Ar fi posibilă o economie cu „faţă umană” în era globalizării?
At the beginning, globalization was an economical process, but gradually it has influenced society and culture. This process develops an impersonal way and causes the crushing of communities’ identity. That is why it appeared the question if globalization can present „a human face”. The article of Anton Carpinschi starts by illustrating the conditions which accomplish this desideratum: the equal repartition of benefits, the non-monopolization of market. Understanding these principles requires the reference to transcendence, to an absolute reference system. But in order to obtain this ontological-theological reference for an economy with „a human face” it is necessary a politics with „a human face”, which promotes a theocentric humanism.

Joachim Wiemeyer
Provocările etice ale globalizării
Globalization has caused the intensification of goods and services exchange, the frequent emigrations and the appearance of the global mobile cash. These great changes bring both hopes and fears because this process seems to be a colossus which can not be stopped. The article of Joachim Wiemeyer comes up against these fears and exposes the dimensions of the social justice which can model globalisation: participation, performance, chances equality, finances, justice in the relations between different generations and the justice of the necessities. Moreover, Joachim Wiemeyer says that globalisation presents potential advantages which can be made topical by establishing a global system of governance which is able to apply the implications of subsidiarity.

Lucian Farcaş
Educaţia socială şi formarea integrală a creştinului
In the second part of the 20th century, when Europe and the whole world tried to heal their wounds of the Second World War, the Catholic Church reaffirmed the importance of the social conscience education and of the integral formation. Lucian Farcaş, in his article, presents and analyses the magisterial teaching from the post-war period, when Church underlined the necessity of knowing, assimilating and applying the social doctrine of the Church, because this teaching could offer true solutions to people’s problems. These stipulations are present today in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church which specifies the framework of the formation of the lay persons, of candidates to priesthood and of the priests. These imperatives have to be considered within the pedagogic itineraries that can apply the Christian faith in temporary realities.

Mons. Aurel Percă
Actualitatea enciclicei „Humanae vitae”
40 years ago the pope Paul VI promulgated the encyclical letter Humanae vitae. This document, which aroused contemptuous reactions, is valid also today thanks its profound rational and human root. Msgr. Aurel Percă, in this study, illustrates the topical interests of the problems presented in Humanae vitae. After presenting the genesis and the complete doctrine of the encyclical letter, the author brings into bold relief the prophetical service of this document which becomes obvious in affirming the moral principles even if it arouses open resistance. This magisterial intervention is not singular, but represents the expression of the care and of attention of the Church of defending human dignity and rights.

Robert Lazu
„Humanae vitae” şi criza vieţii morale în epoca modernă
On the 25th July 1968 the pope Paul VI published Humanae vitae which caused explosive reaction both outside and inside the Church. Robert Lazu makes a survey of the acceptance and of the resistance aroused by this document, indicating the main moral principles we found in it and the social-cultural context which required such a document. In a personal manner, the author illustrates the great challenge of the matrimonial life proposed by Humanae vitae and the necessity of catechizations, whose propose is to transmit to the Christians these important data about the sexual life in family.

Isidor Chinez
Familia în slujirea vieţii. Paternitate responsabilă în „Humanae vitae”
At the beginning of 1960s in Europe unleashed the sexual revolution, whose ideology reduced family to a human association with immanent purpose. The article of Isidor Chinez presents the dangers that attacked family’s integrity and the morality of the relations between spouses. Humanae vitae, in continuity with the Second Council of Vatican, proposes an integral vision of the human beings, marking the double value of the married relation, the responsible paternity, and the necessity of self controlling and the importance of respecting the moral laws. These norms receive their true sense when we consider its from the point of view of the married love which turns the spouses into God’s co-worker.

Wilhelm DANCĂ
Identitatea creştină şi valorile Europei de astăzi
Nowadays European society is registering passionate debates about the role of the Christian roots and of the religion in the structure of the new Europe, about the dialogue between Church and State, about the role of the lays both in the Church and in civilian society. Trying to put attention to this challenging problems, the Theological Roman-Catholic Institute of Iaşi organized the International Symposium “Christian identity and the values of the nowadays Europe”. In the introductory study, we can find out the objectives of the symposium and the framework of the discussions it occasioned: the orientation of the efforts in order to obtain an Europe – community of values, the discovering of new ways of practicing the historical memory in order to safeguard our religious tradition and culture, the contribution to the axiological edification of the good Romanian in order to become a good European. Finally, the author urges to the meeting with Jesus Christ, the Person – Event who founded the Christian values, whose aim is to give sense also nowadays people.

P.S. Petru GHERGHEL
Un popas binecuvântat
History is a gift from God and the concrete sign that he does not leave the people, but protects them remaining near by. On the background of this faith conviction, the article of Msgr. Petru Gherghel makes a succinct introduction in the theme of the festive meeting which occasioned the publishing of the 18th number of Dialog teologic, reminding respectfully of the providential interventions of the bishop Nicolae Iosif Camilli in the opening of the Seminary 1886, and of the ordinarius substitutus Petru Pleşca in its reopening in 1956. In the activities of these pastors, also, even in the approval for the reopening of the Seminary, signed by the communist Emil Botnăraş, in the sufferings of the bishops, professors and seminarians during the communist regime, Msgr. Petru Gherghel sees the mysterious achievement of God, who led the Seminary in the resurrection’s logic, initiated in his Son, the Great Priest of our faith: per crucem ad lucem. Finally, the roman-catholic bishop of Iasi thanks every person who made possible this celebratory time in the Seminary from Iaşi, reminding also the spiritual protectors, Holy Mary, Saint Joseph, the patron of the Seminary, Saint Therese of Lisieux, the second patron.