By EMMALEE ITALIA
Contributing Editor
Taken up in the Diocese of Trenton and nationally on Ash Wednesday, the annual Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which serves essential pastoral needs in more than 25 countries, will take place March 5 this year.
Themed “Restore the Church, Build the Future,” the collection by the United States Conference of Bishops helps foster restoration in countries where their people and the Church have been impoverished and prevented from worshipping during communist oppression.
One such country is Georgia, which was persecuted for nearly 70 years under the Soviet Regime. Catholics were not allowed to perform Baptisms or even enter their churches, and priests were exiled or even killed. Today there are approximately 80,000 Catholics in Georgia practicing the Latin, Georgian-Byzantine, and Armenian Rites.
“However, the faith of many Georgian Catholics was undaunted,” the USCCB details in its collection materials. “In the village of Arali, after communists removed their priest and closed their village Church, the faithful rebuilt the roof of an ancient chapel on the outskirts of the village and, for over 60 years of religious oppression, gathered there to pray. Despite the fierce persecution, the village ‘was never left without prayer.’”
Today, the USCCB reports, “the Catholic Church in Arali has reopened and the faithful are allowed to practice their religion freely, but they still gather weekly in that same ancient chapel to pray. Today, these heroic Catholics who kept the faith alive during decades of oppression need your support and prayers.”
When the Soviet Union collapsed, countries formerly under its rule were suddenly thrown into poverty. More than 30% of Georgians live below the poverty line, with children, the sick and the disabled as the most affected.
“Currently, over 1,000 children are being educated and establishing healthy relationships in Church-run daycare centers, a service that greatly improves their lives,” the USCCB notes. “We bear witness to our identity as Christians when we meet the needs of these people. Every bit of support is helpful to the people in Georgia.”
o view the annual report and see how the collection funds are used, visit https://usccb.cld.bz/ccee-annual-report. For more information on the Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, visit https://www.usccb.org/ccee.