There is no festival that can be seen on TV more than today, as if from one side, without having arrived, we say hello to each other. The devout, if they are on the side of the good, also reconcile with one another. The new taxes and exemptions have not been anything major. It seems that, as we see it, nowhere have people waited so long and in so many ways. In my opinion, it is time to walk on and leave behind a great debt of gratitude. Both feasts are half of the river. Here we have been in work and new lives, and we have secured our hearts with all that is beautiful. There, too, in words, things are very favorable and in order. This gathers within itself and honors with peace and with one another. Then they have very much with them. Likewise, those who, with the care of wisdom, make the days of feast better. And this is also a point on earth at a turning of the year. There is sincerity in abundance and, yes, with a spoonful. Everyone has needs, so as not to be left without a word, without a visit, and without a hand in the spirit. The courage of writing and of “memories” so that, with determination, they may be stretched into words that will not be forgotten. It is a good place with us and with the great ones of the spirit. Our people express their own thoughts, especially in times like these, when more than ever one human being needs another human being. Perhaps these are simple words, but in them there is a great truth. In everyday life, when the fire of hope is lacking, man turns to the symbols of love and peace. They make the burden of the days lighter and give meaning to sacrifice. Never neglect to celebrate with soul and humility, because only thus does man become closer to others and to God. TONIN SHKROKA

Dear brothers and sisters I look forward eagerly to the forthcoming journey to your land. I feel it as a sacred duty to be close to you at such an important time for your country. Albania is emerging from a long period of suffering and needs reconciliation, hope, and spiritual renewal. I wish to meet the Albanian people, to share with them their joys and wounds, to hear their voice, and to pray together for a better future. The Church has always been close to those who suffer and will continue to serve with love and humility. My visit wishes to be a sign of encouragement for everyone: for families, for young people, for those who have lost loved ones, for those who dream of peace and freedom. I invite you to move forward with faith, never forgetting human dignity and the values of forgiveness. May God bless Albania. (To be continued on page 2)

One of the most barbaric persecutions, with a vision of having to withstand and struggle to exist in a form unimaginable in the second half of this century, is undoubtedly the one against the Catholic community. This is because, according to a crippled ideological worldview of class struggle, the proponents of a certain vulgarizing nationalism in political and spiritual efforts, together with part of the Catholic clergy, clearly defined it as a foreign and dangerous “agency”. In truth, as in no other country, in Albania the Catholic clergy made a distinguished contribution to patriotic and cultural movements. In different periods, the clergy was not only a defender of the language, but also of schools, tradition, and the national feeling. Numerous figures from among them played an important role in preserving Albanian identity. Other reasons for the persecution are linked to the moral resistance of this community to totalitarian impositions. Its refusal to submit to ideological diktat made it the target of a systematic policy of violence, imprisonment, and executions. This policy left serious consequences not only for Catholic believers, but for Albanian culture as a whole. (To be continued on page 2)

The editorial office asked... Pope Karol Wojtyła O GREAT GOD! Can it be that we believe in names and now you honor them? -Compatriots of Father Fishta, steps with longing! That is what must be done! In the house today, gentlemen, the residue of Qelesa and Bethlem is shed. Holy Pope! Could we perhaps make the mission for YOU so much, and so much? Do you want the mark, like a youth, so that we may descend like that? The day is poor, we are lowered into the water around the neck to be seen! No way! And the work of the Albanian times, with our lips we touch as the wave of a poet. We are not slumbering for a fig, but for a Deal. AGIM ÇIÇI