Building a Spiritual Bridge

By Anastasia Toufexis.

For more than a generation, the Roman Catholic Church in Eastern Europe has been vigorously attacked by Communist regimes. The East bloc countries have promoted atheism, and some of them have arrested high church officials and priests, suppressed religious orders and all but abolished religious education. Determined to strengthen the church's position and that of its estimated 106 million followers in the Soviet satellites, Pope John Paul II has often bluntly denounced antireligious acts. Last week the Pope issued a 47-page encyclical honoring Cyril and Methodius, two 9th century saints who were missionaries to the Slavs. In it the first Slavic Pontiff made a plea for freedom of worship in Eastern Europe. Praying to God on behalf of the Slavs, he declared, "May they follow, in conformity with their own conscience, the voice of your call." John Paul noted, however, that the church posed no threat to any state. Continuing his prayer, the Pope wrote, "May their membership in the kingdom of your Son never be considered by anyone to be contrary to the good of their earthly homeland."

The epistle, the fourth of John Paul's papacy, is titled Slavorum Apostoli (Apostles of the Slavs), and traces the evangelistic careers of the Greek- born brothers Methodius and Cyril on the 1,100th anniversary of their apostolates. In extolling the lives of Cyril and Methodius, John Paul referred to them as a "spiritual bridge between the Eastern and Western traditions." The two saints, he said, provide a model for the cultural and religious unity of Europe, a favorite theme of this pontificate.

In Slavorum Apostoli, John Paul did not directly accuse the Communists of conducting religious persecutions, but his comment on the problems that beset the saints can be read as an allusion to the current trials of Catholicism in East bloc states. The Pope also appeared to be making a veiled reference to Soviet domination of Eastern Europe when he wrote that Cyril and Methodius "took as their own the difficulties and problems inevitable for peoples who were defending their own identity against the military and cultural pressure of the new Romano-Germanic Empire."

The Pontiff's circumspect language, said Czechoslovak Josef Cardinal Tomko, a member of the Pope's inner circle in Rome, was dictated by the "hope of receiving from the other side a response equally conciliatory, human and constructive." Lately there have been small but significant signs of change. Last year the Czechoslovak weekly newspaper Tribuna called John Paul "one of the most reactionary Popes of this century." But last May, another state- controlled paper, Katolicke Noviny, lauded John Paul as the "untiring hero of international detente." The seeming thaw in East bloc-Vatican relations was not in evidence last year when the Czechoslovak government refused to permit John Paul to enter the country and lead last weekend's ceremonies for Methodius. In a surprise move, however, the Prague government later gave permission for the Vatican's Secretary of State, Agostino Cardinal Casaroli, to attend instead.

In Poland, too, there appears to be a desire to improve relations between church and state. Last month Premier Wojciech Jaruzelski met with Jozef Cardinal Glemp for the first time in 17 months, and Foreign Minister Stefan Olszowski paid a call on the Pope, the first by a Polish Cabinet member to the Holy See in 3 1/2 years.

Nevertheless, officials close to the Pope are concerned that Communist governments are taking a doppio binario, or double-track, approach, initiating good relations at the diplomatic level while continuing to repress religious activity at home. Despite its 10.6 million adherents, the Czechoslovak church has been particularly weakened by the government's harsh measures. The country's laws make it virtually impossible for men to be trained for the priesthood. Of the estimated 3,768 priests who serve 4,445 parishes, only a few hundred are under age 30. The Communist regime has also encouraged the growth of Pacem in Terris, a pro-government organization that takes its name from Pope John XXIII's encyclical on peace and human dignity. Priests must join the group to obtain needed work permits. More than half the Catholic clergy in Czechoslovakia are now members.

John Paul seems convinced that his new muted approach will pay off. Indeed, Vatican officials say the Pope hopes Cardinal Casaroli can lay the groundwork for a papal trip to Czechoslovakia. That in turn might open the way for a ! visit to the Soviet Union, a long-cherished desire. Last week's encyclical gave a hint as to when such a journey could take place. Wrote the Pope: "In a few years, in 1988 to be exact, the millennium of the baptism of St. Vladimir, Grand Duke of Kiev, will be celebrated."

With reporting by John Moody/Prague and Wilton Wynn/Rome