Pell-mell seizes CNSAS

The members of the CNSAS (National Council for Research on the Communist Secret Service Archive) have failed to reach consensus regarding the checks on the high clergy in the Romanian Orthodox Church, although a new Patriarch is to be elected in less than a month.
CNSAS had expected a quiet summer, but the Romanian Patriarch's death did away with the idea. The sides in the CNSAS have taken up recriminations again. The issue at stake is the checks on the past of the Holy Synod members and on the candidates aspiring to head the Romanian Orthodox Church. The uncertainty and confusion prevailing in the CNSAS is a clue that a confrontation will emerge and intensify soon, as the election of a Patriarch is approaching.
The first to make an enflaming statement was Mircea Dinescu in his recent announcement that the Holy Synod members would be checked and questioned by September 12. It seemed to be a CNSAS decision, but surprise emerged.
Several CNSAS members claimed having got no idea about such a decision and described Mircea Dinescu's words as untrue. CNSAS member Laurentiu Tanase commented: "If during the next CNSAS meeting there come out cases on the Church officials, there will be doubt on the person who ordered it and changed the priorities of the CNSAS." (...)
Deadline: September 12
According to the status of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the candidates to run in the election of a future Patriarch are decided on in the very day of election by the Electors' College. Such selection of candidates gives hard times to the CNSAS, as the institution will have to check on all the members of the Holy Synod. Although several CNSAS members are on leave or have gone through personal family problems, the officials decided that several heads of the Romanian Orthodox Church would be checked on. CNSAS sources claim the decision was made in a hurry and due to the insistence of Mircea Dinescu and more members. It is to be mentioned that the technical staff is on leave this month and several CNSAS members didn't attend the meetings. (...)

Cristian Andrei
Ziua Marti 14 August 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english