Whenever we watch on TV how life and freedom are threatened in some corner of the world by war, hunger or injustice, we imagine that at a white window in the city of the Vatican, His Holiness John Paul II appears, who, “raising his hand toward heaven, prays: ‘O God, enlighten people’s minds and hearts with love!’” Love is the source of peace, of freedom, life and truth. Love is the source of work and high virtues. Love is the hand of the one who reaches out to you when you ask for help. This is only a prayer addressed to God. That is all. For a Pope has no other power, except for that blessing which descends from above after the prayer, to establish peace over violence, virtue over vice, love over hatred. There are historians who write that there was a Pope of Albanian origin. And this is an honor for us as Albanians. But the greatest honor is being bestowed on us by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, who will come to our country to ordain four Albanian bishops. This is a Pope whom the whole world now knows. We welcome him with open arms. Albania has had ancient ties with the Papacy. A Pope was connected with Skanderbeg. He is the one who coordinated the courage to write two words in his “Memoirs” that will never be forgotten: “The only mistake I made was that I attacked the Pope.” Centuries will pass, and more or less these words will be repeated, but with the opposite meaning. When the world lived in the anxiety of the Caribbean crisis, when American and Soviet submarines surfaced in the oceans with nuclear warheads threateningly pointed at each other, when the world was on the brink of the greatest destructive danger of all time, then, as if by some miracle, at the height of these threats, news agencies astonishingly reported the withdrawal of nuclear warheads from Cuba. And Khrushchev, in his “Memoirs,” would write only one line that seems almost like a blessing: “It was the Pope—and he himself—who saved the world from certain ruin.” Who was this Pope? Who was the Pope who insisted that Korça remain part of our homeland? Who was the Pope who met with Monsignor Bumçi, as head of the delegation, to defend our homeland’s independence? History must not remain silent. And these are lofty principles embodied in the union of Faith and Homeland, principles that, when the dictatorship sought to erase religion and replace it with a utopia, Albanian martyrs upheld as they slowly walked toward the place of execution. When asked for their “last words,” they raised their heads high and said: “Long live Christ the King! Long live Albania!” History knows Nero, Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin. They are like destructive hurricanes that sweep through the pages of history and, after writing a few lines of shame and damnation, disappear. The Papacy endures. It endures with the blessed words of the immortal Gospel: the words of peace and love. His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, comes to Albania for peace and love. When he passes over Lezhë, I wonder if they will tell him that Saint Francis of Assisi once passed this way too, preaching the Pope and Love? Then He will descend on Shkodër to ordain those Albanian spiritual leaders whom the much-troubled Albanian Catholic Church so desperately needs, but

The Pope’s Message on the occasion of his visit to Albania The Pope’s Message on the occasion of his visit to Albania

... His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, He was the one who coordinated the twinning of Naples and Albania, just as he coordinated Milan with Hunyadi to defend against the Ottoman threat. As if by coincidence, today too, through the Catholic Church, after so many centuries, a twinning is taking place between CARITAS in our country and different cities abroad, to help us get through this difficult period we are experiencing. History also knows powerful generals and emperors. In the euphoria of his endless victories, Napoleon underestimated a Pope. I think he isolated him. But, at the end of his life, the great emperor who shook Europe and could never understand his own defeat at Waterloo, had delegation, to defend our Homeland’s independence? History must not be silenced. Faiths in Albania have always educated the people in the union of faith and homeland. Let us remember Hafiz Dalliu, Negovani, Fishta. Here is what the latter says: To keep one’s pledged word and the friendship one has accepted, to face danger for faith and homeland, to lend a hand to the weak and not flatter the powerful. When it is time to claim what is right, not to avert one’s eyes from the target toward which the mind wishes to reach. Never to grow faint-hearted in the face of the evils brought upon us by Albania. the much-troubled Albanian Catholic Church so desperately needs—troubled, but not extinguished; persecuted, but not defeated. He will descend on Shkodër, to whose north, not far away in former Yugoslavia, a terrible war continues. And nearby, the people of Kosovo live in fear of a very dangerous threat. His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, may raise his hand toward that gloomy sky and pray: “O God, enlighten people’s minds and hearts with love.” And we are full of hope that, just as spring comes after winter, blessing and peace will come after prayer. TONIN SHIROKA One year ago, President Berisha made his first visit as president to the Vatican, and then to Brussels and Strasbourg, in order to link Albania’s destiny with the present and future of a united Europe. For Albanians, united Europe has its beginning on the day Catholicism was established. Albanians are an ancient people in Europe and the Mediterranean, and therefore respect the institutions of the Vatican as the first pan-European institutions. For nearly 2,000 years, Albanians have shown their respect for the Vatican in their own Albanian way at every moment, although this has not always been the case in official relations. The first rupture in these relations occurred 500 years ago, as a result of the Ottoman occupation. The second occurred in 1944, with the Communist victory, not to mention 1967, the year the churches and mosques were destroyed. The first faith of the Albanians was the Catholic faith, which has been central to the very existence of our nation, a nation with a Western history and civilization. More than any other faith, it has been in harmony with our national aspirations. Yet despite all this, it was persecuted, and even church schools such as the one in Vau i Dejës were razed to their foundations. Why were Albanians of the Catholic faith persecuted? This fact is yet another argument in favor of the thesis that communism in the superstructure of Albanian society was not merely an ideological element, but also an anti-national one. The Catholic faith in Albania was attacked because it is a Western faith and, as such, would have been the connecting link between our nation and Europe. Albanian Catholic intellectuals should have been the first Albanian diplomats, setting out for the capitals of Europe to defend (Continued on page 2)

Albania Dear Albanian brothers and sisters! On the eve of my visit to your beloved and noble nation, this visit so eagerly awaited, I wish to send you my first heartfelt greeting, with which I want to embrace all Albanians. With great love I greet Albania’s Catholic community, with the joy of ordaining the new shepherds in the cathedral of Shkodër. After a long period of unheard-of oppression, Albania can, with faith, resume its progress toward the Kingdom of God and for the benefit of all society. My thoughts turn to the Lord President of the Republic, Dr. Sali Berisha, and to the country’s highest political and military authorities. I express to all of them my gratitude for the readiness they have shown regarding my pastoral visit. I send a special greeting to the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, as well as to the Muslim community and all the citizens of the country, with the wish that my visit may help strengthen the fraternal ties that have always characterized relations among the religious faiths. Thanks to the commitment of all people of goodwill, Albania will know how to face and resolve the difficult problems before it. Dear Albanian brothers and sisters, I come to you in the name of God; I come to pray with you for a peaceful and tranquil future. Goodbye! May God bless you!

Dedicated to the Poet-Pope KAROL VOYTILA O Great God! Are You changing the ancient name of the Accursed Mountains? For this Day to dawn, we had to endure 50 accursed years of Night... The Holy Spirit descends today from the “Shore of Tranquility” and bestows the Blessing: —“Countrymen of Father Fishta, open your minds! So that the road may not become tiring and long for you!” O Holy Pope! Can you believe that our gratitude to YOU is boundless? Do you know, Your Holiness, what an honor you do us as you descend? I know Your Ritual: You will kneel without committing any fault And kiss Albanian soil, with YOUR lips, you mighty poet. A people awaits you, We are not nothing, but a Sea. AGIM DOÇI