Catholic Churches in a ‘Suitcase’ from Romania to Italy
摘要
Catholic Churches in a ‘Suitcase’ from Romania to Italy is a contribution to the study of Romanian Catholics present in Italy, both of Latin and Byzantine rite. It offers an overview of Romanian Catholicism, emphasizing how the mobility of religions is linked to human mobility, to men and women who, among other things, carry their Churches in their suitcases. Aspects of this process are addressed by the analysis conducted on the Romanian Roman Catholic immigrant centres in Italy: this starts with some data on their distribution around the country, and goes on to present some distinctive features of these structures: What kind of activities do they carry out? What balance is there between respecting diversity and promoting ‘communion’ in the local churches? What is the experience of the so-called ethnic priest? Then, a significant part of the chapter is devoted to Romanian Greek Catholics in Italy, with a brief excursus on married clergy. To what extent do the ‘cousins from the East’ question an almost exclusively celibate presbyterate? And what role/consideration do their wives have? Finally, the chapter focuses on ecumenism among Romanian immigrant Christianities, that is, a challenge that appears to be pressing more in the immigrant context than in the homeland.