International Religious Freedom Report 2004

BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; while the Government generally respects this
right in practice, some restrictions adversely affect religious freedom, and several minority
religious groups continued to claim credibly that low-level government officials impede their
efforts at proselytizing and interfere with other religious activities.
There was no overall change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period
covered by this report. The Government continues to differentiate between recognized and
unrecognized religions, and registration and recognition requirements still pose obstacles to
minority religions. The Government made no further effort to adopt a new law regulating
religions, and there are no prospects for the submission of such a draft law to Parliament in the
near future. The Government still has not passed legislation to return to the Greek Catholic
community churches and church property transferred by the communists to the Orthodox Church
in 1948, nor has it shown any inclination to do so. Following controversial remarks in July 2003
by President Iliescu regarding the Holocaust, an international commission headed by Nobel Prize
Laureate Elie Wiesel was set up in October 2003 to study the Holocaust in the country, and in
May the Government declared that the Holocaust will be commemorated annually on October 9.
In March Parliament passed a law that lays the groundwork to return properties confiscated from
the Jewish community by the pro-Nazi government between 1940 and 1945. The process of
granting construction permits for places of worship continued, but some minority religions
continued to complain of lengthy delays.
There are generally amicable relations among the different religious groups; however, the
Romanian Orthodox Church has shown some hostility toward non-Orthodox religious churches
and criticized the "aggressive proselytizing" of Protestant, neo-Protestant, and other religious
groups, which the Church repeatedly has described as "sects." The Orthodox Church continues to
oppose the return of Greek Catholic churches it received from the State after the dismantling of
the Greek Catholic Church by the Communists in 1948.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its
overall policy to promote human rights. The U.S. Embassy raised repeatedly the issue of
restitution of religious properties, in particular of Greek Catholic Churches, with government
officials. The need to expand Holocaust education was discussed with government officials by
the U.S. Embassy and the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues. The U.S. Embassy continues to
encourage government and religious leaders to respect religious freedom fully.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has a total area of approximately 91,699 square miles, and its population is
approximately 21.7 million.
The Romanian Orthodox Church is the predominant religion in the country. The Government
officially recognizes 17 religions: The Romanian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church,
the Greek Catholic Church, the Old Rite Christian (Orthodox) Church, the Reformed (Protestant)
Church, the Christian Evangelical Church, the Romanian Evangelical Church, the Evangelical
Augustinian Church, the Lutheran Evangelical Church-Synod Presbyterian, the Unitarian
Church, the Baptist Church, the Pentecostal Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the
Armenian Church, Judaism, Islam, and Jehovah's Witnesses (first recognized as a religion in
May 2003). Members of other faiths worship freely, but are not afforded various forms of state
support.
According to the March 2002 census, the Romanian Orthodox Church had 18,817,975 members
(86.8 percent of the population). The Roman Catholic Church had 1,026,429 members. The
Catholic Church of Byzantine Rite (Greek Catholics or Uniates) had 191,556 members. This
figure is disputed by the Greek Catholic Church, which claims that there were many
irregularities such as census takers refusing to note Greek Catholic affiliation and automatically
assuming Orthodox affiliation, which led to an inaccurate result. The Greek Catholic Church
estimated in 2003 that its adherents number over 790,000. (Greek Catholics were former
members of the Romanian Orthodox Church who in 1697 accepted principles required for union
of the Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church, but continue to maintain many
Orthodox observances and traditions).
The Old Rite Christian (Orthodox) Church had 38,147 members. The Protestant Reformed
Church had 701,077 members. The Christian Evangelical Church had 44,476 members. The
Romanian Evangelical Church had 18,178 members. The Evangelical Augustinian Church had
8,716 members. The Lutheran Evangelical Church Synod-Presbyterian had 27,112 members.
The Unitarian Church of Romania had 66,944 members. The Baptist Church had 126,639
members. The Apostolic Church of God (Pentecostal Church) had 324,462 members. The
Seventh-day Christian Adventist Church had 93,670 members. The Armenian Church had 687
members. There were 6,075 Jews, according to the 2002 census, the Jewish Community
Federation states that there are approximately 10,200 members. Muslims numbered 67,257.
According to the same census, the number of atheists was 8,524, and there were 12,825 persons
who did not have any religious affiliation.
According to the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations, most religions have followers
dispersed throughout the country, although a few religious communities are concentrated in
particular regions. Old Rite members (Lippovans) are located in Moldavia and Dobrogea. Most
Muslims are located in the southeastern part of the country in Dobrogea, near Bulgaria and the
Black Sea coast. Most Greek Catholics are in Transylvania, but there is also a large Greek
Catholic community in Moldavia. Protestant and Catholic believers tend to be in Transylvania,
but many also are located around Bacau. Orthodox or Greek Catholic ethnic Ukrainians are
mostly in the northwestern part of the country. Orthodox ethnic Serbs are in Banat. Armenians
are concentrated in Moldavia and the south.
According to published sources, the Baha'i Faith, the Family (God's Children), the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the Unification Church, the Methodist Church, the
Presbyterian Church, Transcendental Meditation, Hare Krishna, and Zen Buddhism have active
denominations in the country; however, they are not recognized officially. According to a
nationwide poll conducted in October 2003, 1 percent of those polled said they go to church on a
daily basis; 3 percent said they attend church several times per week; 20 percent stated they go to
church once a week; 23 percent claim to go several times per month; 33 percent attend services
only on Christmas, Easter, and other religious holidays; 11 percent go to church once a year or
less; and 7 percent do not go to church at all. The same poll shows that 85 percent of citizens say
that church is the institution they trust most.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
Although the Constitution provides for freedom of religion, the Government exercises
considerable influence over religious life under laws and decrees. The Orthodox Church
exercises substantial influence in its dominant role among a majority of the population and
policymakers, including the commission for construction of new places of worship. Government
registration and recognition requirements still pose obstacles to minority religions. Several
minority religious groups continued to claim credibly that low-level government officials and the
Romanian Orthodox clergy impeded their efforts at proselytizing and interfered with other
religious activities.
A Communist-era decree, number 177 of 1948, remains the basic law governing religious
denominations. It allows considerable state control over religious life. Technically almost none
of the articles of this law have been abrogated formally; however, according to the State
Secretariat for Religious Denominations, a large number of its articles have been nullified in
practice by the Constitution and a series of governmental decrees. Although several religious
denominations and religious associations confirmed that articles stipulating the State's
interference with or control over religious life and activities have not been enforced, such
provisions still exist in the law.
The Government requires religious groups to register. There is no clear procedure for the
registration of religious groups as religions. The Government has refused to recognize a number
of religious groups since 1990. After a long period of persistent refusal to enforce a Supreme
Court ruling in 2000 that ordered that Jehovah's Witnesses be recognized, and after repeated
interventions by the U.S. Embassy and others, the Government granted Jehovah's Witnesses the
status of a recognized religion in May 2003. Jehovah's Witnesses is the first religious group to
gain this status since 1989, with the exception of the Greek Catholic Church, which was
reestablished after the fall of communism.
The total number of recognized religions remains low. Under the provisions of Decree 177 of
1948, the Government recognized 14 religions; subsequently, it added the Greek Catholic
Church (1989) and Jehovah's Witnesses (2003). The Romanian Evangelical Church and the
Christian Evangelical Church were listed originally as one religion but are now considered two
separate fully recognized religions, bringing the total to 17. Recognized religions are eligible for
State support; they have the right to establish schools, teach religion in public schools, receive
government funds to build churches, pay clergy salaries with state funds and subsidize clergy's
housing expenses, broadcast religious programming on radio and television, apply for
broadcasting licenses for denominational frequencies, and enjoy tax-exempt status.
The Government registers religious groups that it does not recognize either as religious and
charitable foundations or as cultural associations. The State Secretariat for Religious
Denominations reported that it licensed 622 religious and charitable foundations, as well as
cultural organizations, under Law 21 of 1924 on Juridical Entities, thereby entitling them to
juridical status as well as to exemptions from income and customs taxes.
In December 2002, a government decision on local taxes carried a list of the 16 (at that time)
officially recognized religions, which had a negative effect on unrecognized religions with
regard to taxes on places of worship; unrecognized religions are now required to pay annual
taxes on these buildings. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses, at the time not formally recognized,
were asked in several communities to pay retroactive property taxes on places of worship.
Jehovah's Witnesses refused to pay the taxes since they had received a court ruling recognizing
their religion in 2000 although the Government did not recognize them officially until 2003.
During the period covered by this report, there was no resolution of the dispute.
Government Decree 26 of 2000 on associations and foundations abrogated Law 21 of 1924 and
eliminated most of the bureaucratic obstacles, including the minimum requirement of members
needed to establish religious associations and foundations, in the registration process. In January
2003, the Government reintroduced mandatory approval by the State Secretariat for the
registration of religious associations. As a result of these procedures, the State Secretariat issued
35 approvals in 2003 and 30 in the first half of the year. Five associations and foundations
notified the State Secretariat in 2003 and the first half of the year of their previous registration.
The State Secretariat approved the change of statutes of four religious associations and
foundations in 2003 and five in the first half of the year. The applications for 20 other religious
groups remained pending on various grounds; however, there were no reports that any
applications were denied during the period covered by this report.
The number of adherents of each recognized religion in the 2002 census determines its state
provided budget. The Orthodox religion receives the largest share of governmental financial
support. In addition Orthodox religious leaders generally preside over state occasions. In 2003
the Government allocated funds amounting to almost $6.9 million (ROL 228,805 million) to the
Orthodox Church, approximately $400,000 (ROL 13,270 million) to the Roman Catholic
Church, close to $127,000 (ROL 4,210 million) to the Greek Catholic Church, and
approximately $98,000,000 (ROL 3,265 million) to the Reformed Church for the construction
and repair of churches.
The law governing the rights of foreigners, revised in 2003, introduced a long-stay visa for
religious activities. Visa requirements include approval by the Ministry of Culture and Religious
Denominations, evidence that the applicants represent a religious organization legally established
in the country, medical insurance, and a criminal record review. To grant this approval, in May
the ministry asked religious groups to provide religious workers' professional history, documents
to prove their qualifications to develop religious activities and represent a religious group in the
country of origin, and reasons for their presence in the country. Some religious groups expressed
concern that these requirements would delay issuance of visas and residency permits. The law no
longer limits visa extensions to 6 months, a provision considered positive by most religious
groups. There are penalties for any foreigner who stays without a visa, but such penalties do not
appear to be linked to religious activities. The State Secretariat reported that approximately 950
visas and visa extensions were approved for religious workers in 2003, and 325 were approved in
the first 6 months of the year.
In November 2003, the Ministry of Culture and Religious Denominations issued new regulations
for the organization and operation of the commission in charge of issuing construction permits
for places of worship. The new regulations, like the old legislation, define places of worship as
"buildings such as churches, houses of prayer, temples, mosques, synagogues, and houses of
assembly, used by religious denominations, religious associations and foundations for their
specific religious services." The regulations were modified in December 2003 by the
Government to eliminate the representative of the Orthodox Church from the composition of the
11-member commission. Previously, the Orthodox Church was the only religious organization
represented on the commission. There were no reports that the commission denied any
applications for construction permits; however, there were reports of lengthy delays.
The Government subsequently made no further progress toward adopting a new religion law.
Minority religious groups are not optimistic about the adoption of a law on religious
denominations in the near future due to ongoing Greek Catholic-Orthodox tensions and pressure
by the Orthodox Church to be declared the national church. The State Secretariat for Religious
Denominations has suggested that a long-pending draft religion law may be submitted to
Parliament in 2005.
Minority religious groups assert that central government and parliamentary officials are more
cooperative than local officials. Specifically, relations with the State Secretariat for Religious
Denominations and the Ministry of Culture and Religious Denominations have continued to
improve.
Following a 1999 Supreme Court ruling, the Ministry of Education no longer requires Adventist
students to come to school or take examinations on Saturdays.
During the period covered by this report, the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations,
along with religious denominations and local authorities, sponsored a training course for
monastery and church staff; a series of symposiums with ecumenical participation in Bucharest,
Durau (Neamt County), Selimbar (Sibiu County), Sibiu, and Cluj; and a conference in Bucharest
on religious freedom and interconfessional relations in light of European integration,
cosponsored with the Bern-based International Association for the Defense of Religious
Freedom. In order to foster a permanent dialogue in religious life, the State Secretariat for
Religious Denominations has meetings with representatives of religious groups on a regular basis
and attended the meetings of the leading bodies of some religious denominations, for example,
the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church and the Congress of the Baptist Church.
The National Anti-Discrimination Council, established to curb discrimination of any kind
(including on religious grounds), received 12 complaints of discrimination on religious grounds
in 2003, and 2 in the first 4 months of this year.
Christmas and the Orthodox Easter are national holidays. Members of the other recognized
religions that celebrate Easter on a different date are entitled by law to have an additional
holiday. Religious leaders occasionally play political roles. In particular many Orthodox leaders
make public appearances with prominent political figures, and religious messages often contain
political promises or goals.
Most mainstream politicians have criticized anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia publicly.
President Ion Iliescu, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, and several members of the cabinet (the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Culture and Religious Denominations, and others)
continued to make public statements on various occasions against extremism, anti-Semitism, and
xenophobia, and criticize attempts to deny the occurrence of the Holocaust in the country.
During the period covered by this report, the Government sponsored several seminars and
symposiums on anti-Semitism. Two government-issued decrees aimed at combating anti-
Semitism ban fascist, racist, and xenophobic organizations; prohibit the personality cult of war
criminals; and protect Jewish cemeteries and synagogues.
In accordance with one of the decrees, three statues of the country's pro-Nazi World War II
leader Marshal Ion Antonescu located on public land were taken down and a square was
renamed in 2002. Most of the Marshal Antonescu streets nationwide were renamed. One of the
localities where the street name has not been changed is Cluj, where the mayor, a member of the
extremist Greater Romania Party, has repeatedly opposed the change. A street with this name
still exists in Targu Mures. In May 2003, the Government inaugurated a Holocaust memorial in
Targu Mures, a Transylvanian town under Hungarian administration in World War II. In October
2003, within the framework of a project on the Cultural Heritage of Jews in Romania, the
national Government, the U.S. Embassy, the NGO Civic Education, and the University of
Bucharest's Goldstein Goren Center for Hebrew Studies supported an international seminar,
organized by the Jewish Communities Federation in Romania and B'nai B'rith International. The
seminar also inaugurated the launch of a digital archive of historical Jewish places in the country.
Introduced only recently in some school curriculums and at the National Defense College,
education on the country's role in the Holocaust is still limited. There is no unitary approach to
teaching the Holocaust. Textbooks used are not consistent in their description of events.
However, in October 2003, the Government established an international commission headed by
Nobel Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel and consisting of 30 Romanian and foreign historians to study
the Holocaust. The findings of the commission, which will have full access to archives and other
documents, will be included in the school curriculum. History teachers participated in training
courses for the teaching of the Holocaust in Paris (November), Cluj (May-September), and
Bucharest in the fall of 2003 and again in May. The Ministry of Education distributed books on
the Holocaust in schools throughout the reporting period. Over 50 teachers have graduated from
the training program at the Holocaust teaching center in Bacau, which was established with the
support of the Ministry of Education in 2002.
On May 20, the Foreign Intelligence Service signed an agreement with the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum to grant access to its archives for research regarding the
Holocaust. In June 2003, on the occasion of the approval of the agreement between the U.S.-
based Holocaust Memorial Museum and Romania's National Archives, the Government issued a
communique that denied the occurrence of a Holocaust within its borders. Faced with domestic
and international criticism, the Government issued a second communiqu�, a few days after the
first, admitting that the pro-Nazi regime had committed serious war crimes against the Jews and
assumed responsibility for the participation of the country's former rulers in the Holocaust. In a
July 2003 interview with the Israeli newspaper "Ha'aretz," President Ion Iliescu downplayed the
Jewish Holocaust in Europe, saying that it "was not unique to the Jews" and other nationalities
had also suffered. The President also said that court cases involving restitution of Jewish
properties should be either postponed or rejected because the country is too poor to return them
or pay compensation. Following vehement domestic and foreign criticism, the President's
Executive Office claimed that Iliescu's statements were misinterpreted and became actively
involved in the establishment of the Wiesel Commission and the Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center criticized the Government in its annual report for 2003 for its
refusal to cancel 1-year-old court rulings pardoning two war criminals that participated in the
extermination of Jews in Bessarabia and Bucovina.
In May, following the recommendation of the Wiesel Commission, the Government established a
Holocaust Remembrance Day on October 9.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
There is no law against proselytizing, nor is there a clear understanding by the authorities of
what activities constitute proselytizing. Although protected by law, several minority religious
groups, which include both recognized and unrecognized religions, made credible complaints
that low-level government officials and Romanian Orthodox clergy impeded their efforts to
proselytize, interfered in religious activities, and otherwise discriminated against them during the
period covered by this report. Few politicians sponsor bills and measures that would oppose the
Orthodox Church due to its substantial influence. Local officials tend to be tolerant, but they
often are pressured and intimidated by Orthodox clergy. According to one official of the State
Secretariat for Religious Denominations, such cases are caused by personal feuds at the local
level and overly aggressive attitudes by minority religious groups toward the Orthodox Church.
In some instances, local police and administrative authorities tacitly supported societal
campaigns (some of which were violent) against proselytizing.
Representatives of religious groups that sought recognition after 1990 allege that the registration
process was arbitrary and unduly influenced by the Romanian Orthodox Church, and that they
did not receive clear instructions concerning the requirements. The Organization of the Orthodox
Believers of Old Rite, the Adventist Movement for Reform, the Baha'i Faith, and the Mormons
are some of the religious groups that have tried unsuccessfully to register as religions. Local
leaders of the Baha'i Faith stated that, during the period covered by the report, they renewed their
attempt to seek registration with only negative response. After a prolonged delay, during which
the U.S. Embassy made repeated representations, the Ministry of Culture and Religious
Denominations enforced a 2000 court ruling ordering recognition of Jehovah's Witnesses as a
religion in May 2003.
One explanation given by the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations for a failure to
register new religions was that recognition requires a decree issued by the Presidium of the
Grand National Assembly, a communist-era institution that no longer exists. Since no new
legislation has been passed in this regard, the State Secretariat stated that the registration of any
new religion is not possible. While this argument appears to have been overtaken by the Supreme
Court's demand that Jehovah's Witnesses be recognized, the confusing set of laws governing
recognition impeded the process.
Unrecognized religions receive no financial support from the State, other than limited tax and
import duty exemptions, and are not permitted to engage in profit-making activities.
Religious minorities, including the Greek Catholic Church, the Catholic Church, and the Baha'i
Faith, made credible allegations of irregularities during the 2002 census. These irregularities
included numerous alleged incidents where census takers did not note accurately minority
religions on census forms by failing to ask, positively suggesting the dominant faith, or even
refusing to mark minority affiliations.
In addition representatives of several minority religious groups complain that allocation of off-
budget funds (special funds maintained by the Government, supposedly for emergency use) is
biased toward the Romanian Orthodox Church. According to the State Secretariat for Religious
Denominations, off-budget funds are distributed depending on the needs of the various religious
denominations. Over the years, the Government has constructed a large number of Orthodox
churches. Some minority religious groups also continued to complain that Orthodox churches
were built with government support in areas without Orthodox believers.
While most minority religions reported that they received permits to build places of worship
without any difficulty, some made credible complaints that the regulations generated delays in
the process. According to reports by the Jehovah's Witnesses, although their requests for permits
were approved by central authorities, their intention to build places of prayer have been
obstructed at the local level, such as in Bals (Olt County) and Feldioara (Brasov County), where
the mayors refused to issue the construction permits, and Jehovah's Witnesses had to take the
issue to court. A decision in the Bals case still was pending at the end of the period covered by
this report. Despite a September 2003 court ruling in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses in Feldioara,
the mayor continued to refuse to issue the permit. Similar situations occurred in a number of
other locations. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Carlibaba (Suceava County) reported a
similar case in which the church was denied a building permit by the mayor on the grounds that
the number of believers was too few to warrant a church; the mayor has denied the permit
repeatedly since the land purchase in 2000.
In 2003 the Commission approved 197 applications for the construction of places of worship. Of
the 197 permits, 102 were granted to the Orthodox Church, 6 to the Catholic Church, 14 to the
Greek Catholic Church, 3 to the Reformed Church, 12 to the Baptist Church, 7 to the Pentecostal
Church, 11 to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 30 to Jehovah's Witnesses, and the rest to other
religions. In the first 4 months of the year, the commission issued 50 permits: 31 to the Orthodox
Church; 1 to the Catholic Church; 4 to the Greek Catholic Church; 4 to the Baptist Church; 4 to
the Pentecostal Church; 2 to the Seventh-day Adventist Church; and 4 to Jehovah's Witnesses.
By the end of the period covered by this report, 10 applications were pending submission of
additional data.
The law does not prohibit or punish assembly for peaceful religious activities. However, several
minority religious groups complained that local authorities and Orthodox priests prevented
religious activities from taking place, even when the groups had been issued permits. The
Seventh-day Adventist Church reported difficulties in obtaining approvals to use public halls for
religious activities following pressure by Orthodox priests. Even when they had rented public
halls, on many occasions, local authorities, pressured by Orthodox priests, forced the Seventh-
day Adventist Church to discontinue its religious programs, for example, in Dragomiresti (Vaslui
County). Although Jehovah's Witnesses were granted religion status, a large number of mayors
continued to demand taxes for land and places of worship. Thirteen lawsuits regarding taxes are
currently in progress following Jehovah's Witnesses' complaints. In Saliste (Sibiu County), the
mayor forbade Jehovah's Witnesses from developing any local activity, accusing them of
proselytizing.
The Government permits, but does not require, religious instruction in public schools.
Attendance in classes is optional. Only the 17 recognized religions are entitled to hold religion
classes in public schools. While the law permits instruction according to the faith of students'
parents, minority recognized religious groups complain that they have been unable to have
classes offered in their faith in public schools. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Greek
Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, and Jehovah's Witnesses continued to report such cases.
According to minority religious groups, the local inspectors for religion classes are typically
Orthodox priests who deny accreditation to teachers of other religions. Religious teachers are
permitted to instruct only students of the same religious faith. However, minority religious
groups, including the Greek Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses, credibly asserted that there were
cases of children pressured to attend classes of Orthodox religion. The Baptist Church
complained that inspectorates hired Baptist theological high school teaching staffs without
asking for the prior approval of the church, despite a protocol to this effect signed by the Church
and the Ministry of Education in September 2000.
The Religious Assistance Division in the Ministry of Justice submits an annual report on
religious assistance in prisons to the Ministry of Justice and the Orthodox Patriarchate. Only
recognized religions are entitled to give religious assistance to prisoners, and regulations on the
organization of religious assistance in penitentiaries forbid proselytizing. The prison priest
(always an Orthodox priest) coordinates religious assistance in prisons. Minority recognized
religious groups asserted that Orthodox priests denied them access to some penitentiaries.
The law entitles recognized religions to have military clergy trained to render religious assistance
to conscripts. However, according to minority religions, with the exception of two
representatives of the Catholic Church and Evangelical Alliance, the military clergy is comprised
only of Orthodox priests.
In June 2002, the Parliament passed legislation restituting religious properties confiscated by the
Communist regime. Some religious or communal property already had been returned to former
owners as a result of government decrees or with the agreement of local religious leaders. The
center-right government in office between 1996 and 2000 issued 4 decrees and a government
decision, which resulted in the restitution of 100 buildings to religious and national minorities.
One of the decrees (94/2000) subsequently became the basis of law 501, following an agreement
between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in
Romania (UDMR).
In many cases, religious minorities have not succeeded in regaining possession of the properties
despite restitution by these decrees. Many properties returned by decree house government
offices, schools, hospitals, or cultural institutions that would require relocation, and lawsuits and
protests by current possessors have delayed restitution of the property to rightful owners.
Law 501 should provide for the restitution of all church properties. The buildings used by public
institutions (such as museums, schools, and hospitals) are to remain in tenants' hands for a period
of 5 years, during which time they are to pay rent to the churches. The majority of church
properties belong to this category. However, this law does not address the distinctive and
sensitive issue of the Greek Catholic churches. Some religious denominations criticized the law
for failing to include a provision to give other buildings in compensation for those that have been
demolished. By the final deadline of March 2, 2002, religious denominations submitted 7,568
applications for restitution, according to Law 501, as follows: Orthodox Church, 770; Roman-
Catholic Church, 992; Greek Catholic Church, 2,207; Reformed Church, 899; Mosaic cult,
1,809; Evangelical Church, 690; other denominations, 201. The national commission for Law
501 started its activity in June 2003 and restituted 70 buildings that month. The process
continued at more or less regular intervals, and the commission restituted an additional 479
buildings during the reporting period.
The Greek Catholic Church was the second largest denomination (approximately 1.5 million
adherents out of a population of approximately 15 million) in 1948 when Communist authorities
outlawed it and dictated its forced merger with the Romanian Orthodox Church. At the time of
its banning, the Greek Catholic Church owned more than 2,600 churches, which were
confiscated by the State and then given to the Orthodox Church, along with other facilities. Other
properties of the Greek Catholic Church, such as buildings and agricultural land, became state
property.
According to the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations, after 1989 the Greek Catholic
Church regained control over 270 of the churches transferred by the Communists to the
Orthodox Church; however, the Greek Catholics claim that they have received only 176 such
properties. The Greek Catholic Church has very few places of worship. Many followers still are
compelled to hold services in public places (over 353 cases, according to Greek Catholic reports)
or in the open. For example, Greek Catholic parishioners continue to worship in a local park in
Rosia Montana, where local authorities did not enforce a final court ruling, dating from 2002,
returning the Greek Catholic church, parish house, and cemetery. Similar situations were
reported in at least two other localities. In 1992 the Government adopted a decree that listed 80
properties (that were not places of worship) owned by the Greek Catholic Church to be returned.
After the restitution of 60 to 65 properties, including schools and hospitals (the most important
buildings, including three schools in Cluj have not been restituted), no further progress has been
made. In some cases, Orthodox priests whose families had been Greek Catholics converted back
to Greek Catholicism and brought their parishes and churches with them to the Greek Catholic
Church. In several counties, in particular in Transylvania, local Orthodox leaders have given up
smaller country churches voluntarily. For example, in the Diocese of Lugoj in the southwestern
part of the country, local Orthodox Church representatives reached agreement on the return of an
estimated 160 churches; however, for the most part, Orthodox leaders have refused to return
churches to the Greek Catholics. Between July 2003 and April, the Greek Catholic Church
recovered 30 churches, an improvement over the previous year, but only a small percentage of
the approximately 2,000 churches outstanding.
In the early 1990s, the Orthodox Archbishop of Timisoara, Nicolae Corneanu, returned
approximately 50 churches, including the cathedral in Lugoj, to the Greek Catholic Church.
However, due to his actions, the Orthodox Holy Synod marginalized Archbishop Corneanu, and
his fellow clergymen criticized him.
A 1990 government decree called for the creation of a joint Orthodox and Greek Catholic
committee at the national level to decide the fate of churches that had belonged to the Greek
Catholic Church before 1948. The Government did not enforce the decree until 1998, when the
committee met for the first time. It had three meetings in 1999, and it has met annually since
2000, but the Orthodox Church resisted efforts to resolve the problem in this forum. The courts
generally refuse to consider Greek Catholic lawsuits seeking restitution, citing the 1990 decree
establishing the joint committee to resolve the issue. From the initial property list of 2,600 seized
churches, the Greek Catholic Church has reduced the number of its claims to fewer than 300.
Only 15 churches have been restituted as the result of the joint committee's meetings. Restitution
of the existing churches is important to both sides because local residents are likely to attend the
church whether it is Greek Catholic or Orthodox. Thus the number of members and share of the
state budget allocation for religions is at stake.
At the most recent meeting of the joint committee in Baia Mare on September 23, 2003, the
Greek Catholic Church reiterated its core claim: the restitution of its former cathedrals and
district churches, and the return of one church in localities where there are two churches and one
of them had belonged to the Greek Catholics. The Orthodox Church in turn stressed that the will
of the majority of believers should be taken into account with regard to restitution, and restitution
problems should be solved by dialogue. It also called for an end of all ongoing lawsuits and
emphasized that the construction of new churches is the only solution to existing conflicts. The
next meeting of the national joint committee is scheduled for September 2004.
Despite the stated desire for dialogue, the Orthodox Church has demolished Greek Catholic
churches under various pretexts. For example, Greek Catholic churches (some of them historical
monuments) were demolished in Vadu Izei (Maramures County), Baisoara (Cluj County), Smig
(Sibiu County), Tritenii de Jos (Cluj County), and Craiova (Dolj County). A church in Urca (Cluj
County) was demolished in August-September 2003. Another church threatened with demolition
is in Ungheni (Mures County). In this instance, the Orthodox Church resumed construction for a
new church during the period covered by this report; the new church is being built around the
Greek Catholic Church. Despite a court order to halt construction, the Orthodox Church
continued work close to the church of a famous Greek Catholic Monastery of Nicula (Cluj
County). Moreover, the Government allocated sizeable funds to the Orthodox construction site.
Over a number of years, the Orthodox Church has repeatedly rejected the Greek Catholic
requests for alternating service in a total of 227 localities. Following increasing tensions in some
localities, the Ministry of Culture and Religious Denominations called and mediated a meeting of
the two churches in April 2002. The Minister of Culture announced at the meeting the
Government's intention to help the Greek Catholic Church build 50 wooden churches, a solution
that does not satisfy fully Greek Catholic Church claims. No churches had been built by the end
of the period covered by this report.
The national commission for the restitution of religious property according to Law 501/2002
returned 53 of the 2,207 reclaimed buildings to the Greek Catholic Church to date.
In February 2002, the Orthodox Patriarch in a letter to the Minister of Justice described court
rulings in favor of the Greek Catholic Church as "illegal" and "abusive" and stated that decisions
on such cases should be made only by the joint Orthodox-Greek Catholic committee. The
Minister of Justice distributed the letter to all Courts of Appeal and asked for its careful
consideration.
In October 2002, Greek Catholic believers from the country and throughout the world addressed
a memorandum to the President, Premier, and other state authorities, complaining about
discrimination against their Church and calling for the restitution of the Greek Catholic churches
and other assets confiscated under Communist rule. The authorities did not respond to this
memorandum.
An earlier appeal by the Pope in June 2002 for the restitution of Catholic properties, as well as a
letter sent by the Greek Catholic Archbishop later that month for a restitution law regarding
Greek Catholic churches, remain unanswered. Local and state authorities also ignored letters and
appeals complaining about discrimination of the Church, sent by Greek Catholic bishops and
priests in December 2003 and in January and February. The authorities did not respond to street
protests by Greek Catholics in October 2003.
Even when courts accept lawsuits regarding Greek Catholic churches, in many cases restitution
was not granted. For example, in March after a 14-year long lawsuit, a Bucharest court of appeal
rejected the restitution claim for the most important Greek Catholic Church in Bucharest, despite
recognizing that the Greek Catholic Church owned the church.
Historical Hungarian churches, including Roman Catholic as well as Protestant churches
(Reformed, Evangelical, and Unitarian), have received a small number of their properties from
the government. Churches from these denominations were closed but not seized by the
communist regimes. However, the communist regime confiscated many of these groups' secular
properties, which still are used for public schools, museums, libraries, post offices, and student
dormitories.
Approximately 80 percent of the buildings confiscated from Hungarian churches are used as
public facilities (schools, hospitals, or museums). Of the 1,630 buildings confiscated by the
communist regime from Hungarian churches, only 33 were restituted by government decrees
between 1996 and 2000. Hungarian churches registered 27 of them in the official real estate
book. Of these buildings, they could take possession of fewer than 20. Restitution of the
remainder has been delayed due to lawsuits or opposition from current possessors. For example,
restitution under Decree 13 of 1998 of the Batthyanaeum Library (which had belonged to the
Roman Catholic Church) has been delayed by lawsuits. Despite a December 2003 court ruling in
favor of the Roman Catholic Church, the building has not been restituted. The church filed a
complaint early this year. No further progress has been made in the restitution of the Roman
Catholic Bishop's Palace in Oradea, which was partially restituted in June 2003, according to a
protocol between a local museum, its current user, and the Roman Catholic Bishopric. The
Minister of Culture and Religious Denominations stated in 2001 that he is opposed to restitution
of these properties, despite the court rulings. To date the national commission for religious
property restitution according to Law 501/2002 has restituted 340 of the 1,450 reclaimed
buildings to the Hungarian Churches.
The Jewish community has received 42 buildings by government decree. Of these structures, the
community has taken actual, partial, or full possession of 29 buildings. The community has been
able to reclaim land only in Iasi, where it received 15 pieces of land (of former synagogues and
schools) between 1999 and 2000. Under Law 501/2002, 38 additional buildings were returned to
the Jewish community during the period covered by this report.
At the beginning of March, Parliament adopted a law amending a previous government decree,
which restituted a limited number of properties to ethnic communities, including the Jewish
community. The new law stipulates the restitution of all buildings that belonged to ethnic
communities and were confiscated between September 6, 1940, and December 22, 1989. As in
the case of religious properties, buildings used for the "public interest" will remain in the hands
of the present users for 5 years. Under the law, claims for restitution may be submitted until
September 30. At the request of the Jewish community, the new law extended the period of the
confiscation of properties to include the interval between 1940 and 1945, when the pro-Nazi
government seized a large number of Jewish properties. As was earlier the case, the new law
does not provide compensation for properties that no longer exist.
Another problem with restitution is often a refusal by the occupant to return a property or pay
rent for occupancy. The nominal owner still can be held liable for payment of property taxes in
such cases. The Reformed College in Cluj, returned to the Reformed Church by government
decree in 1999, had to pay property taxes without receiving any rent from its user, Gheorghe
Sincai High School. The building eventually was partially returned to the Reformed Church in
December 2002.
According to Law 1 of 2000, religious denominations are entitled to claim between 25 to 250
acres of farmland (depending on the type of religious unit—parish, eparchy, bishopric), and up to
75 acres of forestland from properties seized by the communists. This is the first law that
establishes a systematic procedure for churches to claim land; however, enforcement continues
to be slow.
Amendments to the Constitution enacted in October 2003 allow the establishment of
confessional schools subsidized by the State.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had
been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such
citizens to be returned to the United States.
Abuses by Terrorist Organizations
There were no reported abuses targeted at specific religions by terrorist organizations during the
period covered by this report.
Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect to Religious Freedom
In October 2003, after a year of controversy over government statements and presidential
remarks regarding the Holocaust, the Government established an international commission to
study the Romanian Holocaust and make recommendations for expanding Holocaust education.
The commission, which is expected to release its first report in November, is headed by Nobel
Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel. In March Parliament adopted a law to restitute communal properties,
including those confiscated from members of the Jewish community by the pro-Nazi government
between 1940 and 1945. In May the Government established a Holocaust Remembrance Day, to
be observed every October 9.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
There are generally amicable relations among the different religious groups. However, the
Romanian Orthodox Church repeatedly has criticized strongly the so-called "aggressive
proselytizing" of Protestant, neo-Protestant, and other religious groups, which the Church
repeatedly has described as "sects." There is no law against proselytizing, or any clear
understanding of what activities constitute proselytizing. Proselytizing that involves denigrating
established churches is perceived as provocative. This has led to conflicts in some cases. The
press reported several cases in which adherents of minority religions were prevented by others
from practicing their faith, and local law enforcement authorities did not protect them. The "New
Right" (Noua Dreapta) organization (a small, right-wing group with nationalistic, xenophobic
views) repeatedly harassed verbally and sometimes physically Mormons in several cities around
the country. In July 2003, "New Right" members picketed an open house meeting in Bucharest.
The police intervened to protect the meeting. In 2001 Jehovah's Witnesses filed a complaint with
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the sentencing of six of its members
from Mizil to pay fines on charges of insult and assault in a trial initiated by persons linked with
the Orthodox Church in 2000. The ECHR's decision remained pending at the end of the period
covered by this report.
The centuries-long domination of the Orthodox Church, along with its status as the majority
religion, has resulted in the Orthodox Church's reluctance, in particular at the local level and with
the support of low-level officials, to accept the existence of other religions. Consequently,
actions by other religious groups to attract members frequently are perceived by the Orthodox
Church as attempts to diminish the number of its members. Minority religious groups allege that
some members of the Orthodox clergy have provoked isolated mob incidents. The Adventist
Church reported an incident at Fetesti (Iasi County) in November 2003, when the Orthodox
priest and the mayor incited the population to bury a deceased Adventist following Orthodox
rites, acting forcibly against the wishes of the family.
Members of Jehovah's Witnesses continue to allege verbal and physical abuse from persons
incited by some Orthodox priests, who often took an active part in these actions. In some
instances, the priests reportedly had the support of local authorities and the police, such as in
Dofteana (Bacau County) in April. In many cases, including Covasna (Covasna County) and
Dofteana (Bacau County) in April, the police either did not intervene in such incidents or, under
the influence of Orthodox priests, reacted negatively to Jehovah's Witnesses' complaints. In
Covasna the police reportedly attempted to intimidate Jehovah's Witnesses to stop their activity.
Tensions with the Orthodox Church reportedly increased in Mizil, a village with a small
congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. The congregation was subjected to a persistent discrediting
campaign by the local Orthodox Church, which sent a letter to the police in April threatening to
take measures to stop Jehovah's Witnesses activity unless the police took action. The police
initially refused to register a complaint in May by an ordinate Jehovah's Witnesses minister that
an Orthodox priest verbally and physically abused him. Jehovah's Witnesses appealed for help
from the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations. The Secretariat urged the prefect's
office, in an official letter on May 24, to take all necessary steps to guarantee constitutional
provisions and to defuse interconfessional tensions. Reportedly, at the end of June, the Jehovah's
Witness ordinate minister was summoned to the police station, verbally abused, and threatened
by four Orthodox priests and eight Orthodox believers, in the presence of two police officers.
The officers failed to protect the minister or prevent the incident from taking place in a public
building. Jehovah's Witnesses subsequently wrote a letter of complaint regarding the incident to
the Prahova County Police Inspectorate who responded by suggesting Jehovah's Witnesses
should take such incidents to court.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church reported similar incidents with Orthodox priests in several
localities, including Anghelesti (Vrancea County) in February and Danciulesti in March (Gorj
County). In April in Cervenia and Licurici (Teleorman County), Orthodox priests verbally
abused school children participating in the Biblical School courses of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Mormons reported that two church missionaries were harassed by an Orthodox priest in
Bucharest in October 2003. This religious group encountered similar problems in Iasi and Pitesti
between October 2003 and February. In addition the Seventh-day Adventist Church reported that
an Orthodox priest beat a Seventh-day Adventist student during the religion class in Jorasti
(Galati County) in March. The school principal refused to discuss the issue with the Adventist
priest; reportedly no legal action was taken against the Orthodox priest for the assault.
In January and February, unidentified persons damaged the facade of a new Adventist Church in
Girov (Neamt County), and the local police refused to receive the Adventist Church's written
complaint. A complaint was filed at the end of February with the county police, but the
perpetrators were unidentified at the end of the reporting period.
In June 2003, an Orthodox priest assaulted a Presbyterian priest with a metal cross in Bucecea
(Botosani Count). The population and the police took action in favor of the Presbyterian priest;
however, the incident was closed without legal action against the Orthodox priest.
During the period covered by this report, Orthodox priests denied the Seventh-day Adventist
Church access to bury its deceased members in the cemeteries of Vizantea (Vrancea County),
Mihaileni (Botosani County), Vaslui (Vaslui County), Jabenta and Chiherul (Mures County),
Horezu (Valcea County), and Cervenia (Teleorman County). In Mihaileni and Jabenta, following
pressure by the local authorities, the burials eventually were allowed. In all of these cases, it is
not clear whether public or church cemeteries were the subject of the disputes. In order to avoid
such encounters, the Adventist Church asked the mayors' offices for land for cemeteries, but
during the period covered by this report received positive answers to only 4 of its 500 requests.
Orthodox priests also obstructed the burial of Greek Catholic believers in Garbau (Cluj County),
Ileanda (Salaj County), Rosia (Sibiu County), Magina (Alba County) and Salistea de Sus
(Maramures County).
Representatives of minority religions credibly complain that only Orthodox priests grant
religious assistance in hospitals, children's homes, and shelters for the elderly. Charitable
activities carried out by other churches in children's homes and shelters often have been
interpreted as proselytizing.
Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Greek Catholic churches has not eliminated disputes at
the local level and has led to little real progress in solving the problem of the restitution of the
Greek Catholic assets.
Disputes between Greek Catholics and Orthodox believers over church possession increased in
number during the period covered by this report. Greek Catholic communities have decided, in
many cases, to build new churches due to lack of progress in restituting their properties either
through dialogue with the Orthodox Church or in court; however, their efforts have been
obstructed by the Orthodox Church, sometimes with the support of local authorities. For
example, in Sapinta, the Greek Catholic Church chose not to reclaim its former church and
cemetery but rather to construct a new church. In September 2003, the Orthodox priest
reportedly prompted the population to stop a meeting of the local council, which should have
approved the construction plans of the new Greek Catholic Church. There were similar tensions
in Certeze (Satu Mare County), where the Greek Catholic Church was not permitted to build a
new church on its land due to obstructions and harassment by the Orthodox Church and local
authorities. Tensions continued in localities where the Orthodox Church refused to enforce a
court ruling ordering the restitution of churches to the Greek Catholic Church, for example,
Tigvaniul Mare (Caras Severin County), Rosia Montana (Alba County), and Racovita.
In Prunis (Cluj County), where most of the residents belong to the Greek Catholic Church,
tensions continue due to a long-standing lawsuit. The Minister of Culture and Religious
Denominations mediated an agreement in June 2003, designed to defuse tensions between the
Orthodox and the Uniate Churches in Mihalt (Alba County), according to which the Greek
Catholic Church should have received government funding to build a new cemetery. However,
discord continued in the region, following the Government's allocation in December 2003 of
approximately $150,000 (ROL 5 billion) to the Orthodox Church instead of the Greek Catholic
Church. In the time that it took to correct the misallocation, approximately 3 months, the
Orthodox Church purchased the piece of land the Greek Catholics intended to buy.
In Ardud the Greek Catholic Church, which previously had owned the only church in the
locality, built a new church to put an end to the long-standing conflict. However, the Orthodox
Church took legal action and evicted the Greek Catholic priest (who had been an Orthodox
priest) from the parish house in December 2003 in the presence of numerous gendarmes and
police. The Orthodox Church refused the Greek Catholics' proposal to help buy a new house for
the Orthodox priest.
In most localities with two churches (one of which had belonged to the Greek Catholic Church)
and only one Orthodox priest, priests frequently do one of three things: hold religious services in
turns in both locations; keep the Orthodox Church locked and hold the services in the former
Greek Catholic Churches; or establish a second Orthodox parish in the locality. Such cases are
reported in Pintic, Letca, Boereni, Sanpaul, Lupsa, Singiorzul Nou, and Suciu de Jos. However,
50 Greek Orthodox churches still are closed.
During the period covered by this report, 17 final restitution court rulings in favor of the Greek
Catholic Church could not be enforced because of local authorities' lack of cooperation.
Moreover, in many cases during the reporting period, local authorities, for example, local police
and prefects in Maramures, Satu Mare, Alba, and other counties, repeatedly supported the
Orthodox Church in opposing enforcement of such court rulings. The Ministry of Culture and
Religious Denominations granted museum status to churches in Sieu and Bogdan Voda
(Maramures County) instead of supporting the enforcement of final court rulings restituting the
former Greek Catholic churches.
In Racovita the local Orthodox priest and the mayor continued to refuse to implement Orthodox
Archbishop Corneanu's decision to restitute a church to the Greek Catholics.
In Bicsad (Satu Mare County), where the Greek Catholics obtained a government decision
restituting a former Greek Catholic monastery, the Greek Catholic Church still could not take
possession of the monastery because of opposition from the local Orthodox clergy. Local
authorities have not supported enforcement of the Government's decision.
In Dumbraveni the Orthodox Church continued to refuse to enforce a previous court ruling to
share a local church with the Greek Catholic Church. Short-term prospects for the return of the
Greek Catholic church are dim, since restitution is contingent on construction of a new Orthodox
church, which is expected to take many years.
The fringe press continued to publish anti-Semitic articles. The Legionnaires (also called the Iron
Guard, an extreme nationalist, anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi group that existed in the country in the
inter-war period) continued to publish books from the inter-war period and Iron Guard
magazines. A new Iron Guard monthly, "Obiectiv Legionar" (Legionnaire Focus), carrying
mostly old legionnaire literature, began publication in July 2003 and is distributed in several of
the largest cities, including Bucharest. A contributor to one of these magazines, the Timisoara-
based "Gazeta de Vest," was sentenced in July 2003 to 30 months' imprisonment for
dissemination of nationalist-chauvinistic propaganda and fascist symbols. The "New Right"
organization (also with legionnaire orientation) continued to sponsor marches to commemorate
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the founder of the Legionnaire Movement, for example, a march in
November 2003. Religious services to commemorate legionnaire leaders continue to be held in
Orthodox churches, such as the services commemorating Corneliu Zelea Codreanu in November
2003. In March a private television station, National TV, broadcast a talk show on "Gypsies,
Jews, and Legionnaires," which voiced xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and racist opinions. One of the
participants, the leader of an extremist organization, wore the legionnaire uniform. National TV
did not react to a protest sent by the Jewish Communities Federation in Romania regarding this
show.
Unidentified persons broke into a synagogue in Bacau and broke its windows in March. The
perpetrators could not be identified, but are believed to have been local youths, rather than
members of an organized anti-Semitic movement. Non-Jewish cemeteries in Bucharest were
vandalized in a similar manner. Anti-Semitic graffiti was written on the walls of the Jewish
Theater in Bucharest and on downtown buildings in Cluj in October 2002. Perpetrators have not
been identified in either case. Thieves broke into the Jewish temple in Vatra Dornei in July 2002.
The synagogue in Focsani was desecrated in July 2002. Five Jewish cemeteries were desecrated
in 2003. Perpetrators have not been identified in these cases.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Government actively discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of
its overall policy to promote human rights. The Embassy also maintains close contact with a
broad range of religious groups in the country. Embassy staff, including the Ambassador, Deputy
Chief of Mission, political section chief, human rights officer, and USAID and Public Diplomacy
officers, regularly met with religious leaders and government officials who work on religious
affairs in Bucharest and in other cities.
In July 2003, the Embassy financed the travel of four high school teachers to a course in the
United States for teaching the Holocaust and provided books on the Holocaust to the Ministry of
Education to use to develop a text and teachers' manual.
In a series of meetings during the period covered by this report, the Ambassador discussed with
the Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and Minister of Culture and Religious Affairs the
need to ensure that specific, widespread teaching of the Holocaust takes place within the national
educational system. The Ambassador offered technical and material assistance to support further
development of the curriculum. During a visit to Bucharest in November 2003, the Special
Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Ambassador Edward O'Donnell, discussed with government
officials expanding Holocaust education and ensuring access to archival materials on the
Holocaust for historians and other researches.
On repeated occasions, the Ambassador raised the issue of restitution of religious properties, in
particular of Greek Catholic churches, with government officials, including the President and
Prime Minister. In August 2003, members of the Embassy's Office in Cluj discussed the
problems encountered by the Greek Catholic Church in restitution of its churches in some
specific cases at a panel on the U.S. and Europe in Tusnad. The Embassy's Office in Cluj focused
on similar restitution topics at a conference on the Greek Catholic Church at the Babes-Bolyai
University in November 2003, at an ecumenical conference in Cluj in March, and in numerous
speeches in schools and universities.
Through SEED funding, and at the Ambassador's direction, USAID cosponsored a project on the
Cultural Heritage of Jews in Romania, which included an international seminar in October 2003
and the development of the "Jewish Heritage Trail" computer archive of historic Jewish sites in
the country.
In addition Embassy staff members were in frequent contact with numerous nongovernmental
organizations that monitor developments in the country's religious life. U.S. officials have
lobbied consistently in government circles for fair treatment on property restitution issues,
including religious and communal properties, and for nondiscriminatory treatment of all religious
groups. The Embassy has worked on the development of interconfessional understanding and
broader religious tolerance.