The report of a JPIC coordinator in Slovakia

There are some areas in which I work every day and some others I work occasionally. For some several years I have been doing the work of a hospital chaplain. They ask for annoying of the sick, I listen to their confessions and say the masses in our hospital chapel every day.
The other social work is a work with roman people. Once a week they usually come to our parish asking us to baptize their children. It is very common that the father´s name of a child is unknown. There are many reasons why work with them is so tough. They have many demands on us, but they do not want to be led and educated by us. They are still attached to their own roman traditions. For instance, a roman woman just after baptizing the child with the holy water starts tweaking that child. The child has to cry loudly so everyone will know that this child is healthy. Afterwards they take the child and go around the altar three times praying and asking God to bless their child.
Sometimes they call us to bless their houses. So that is the good opportunity to know them better and even to see every place in their houses. We work with them in our pastoral centre which was repaired in 2004. I talk about small children attending the primary schools. We do some catechesis and through the small groups we try to lift up and make better their behaving and education.
Through these children we try to reach their parents. On different occasions they are invited to come and to participate and joined us. The best trap is to organize a disco for them. You can be sure for 100% that they will come and after finishing it, they will leave you with a lot of rubbish.
According to the official statistics 300 thousand roma people live at the present time in Slovakia. This amount is closed to the amount of roma people living in France, but the France is 11times bigger than Slovakia.
But it is a tough work and takes ages to improve something. One proverb says: “does not matter for how long a piece of wood stays in the water, it still does not turn to be a crocodile”.
The people believe that the socialist law which came out in the year of 1958 and was forbidding the migration was the begging of all the troubles with the roman people in Slovakia.
Once a week I go to charity to serve the homeless people. My work consists of worming the soup and spreading the butter on the bread and so getting closer to them. It sometimes happens that they asked for a confession.
Once a month I go to see drug and alcoholic addicts in Novy Svet. Some of us still remember visiting this places and I assure you they remember you. It was such a surprise when they suddenly saw a big bus and more than 30 people coming out of the bus just to see them and talk to them. The re- socialization centre is still receiving and accommodating more and younger or older people who have got into these addictions. The last week just one of them, a young boy overdosed himself. But on the other hand in two years three of them had been prepared to receive all the sacraments and they did so this year.
This year I have also started to work two non-government organizations named Pro-Life and Forum of Life. These organizations work hard to protect dignity and justice of a person as a human being and to protect human lives. I have started distributing a lot of brochures about protecting human lives everywhere I go but mostly in the hospital I take care off. The other time we had a mass for an unborn children and protection of human life.
On 1st-5 September this year a pilgrimage called “green” was led by the first deputy Prime Minister Jan Figel and the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson Kodwo. He said at a press conference that the theme of Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation should be studied in all seminaries. Furthermore, it should be incorporated into the curriculum of Catholic universities. Cardinal visited the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava and then they proceed to Mariazell a small town in Austria. The idea was based on the message of Pope Benedict XVI. Which he gave on the Day of World Peace 2010: “If you want to help peace, we have to save the creation.” The cardinal added: “The world is a house of people, and we try to make the world safe and comfortable house for all”.
In this context we started to separate the waist. We collect the plastic bottles and theirs tops and put them into the bags. The tops of these plastic bottles are collected by a one lady who is saving the many for buying wheel chairs for handicap children.
There are many other things that I am not going to mention them here but as God say: “For my justice God has given me a reward, because he has seen that my hands are cleaned” (Z 18).
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The report of
Fr. Pavel Kobliha, SVD
Nitra, Slovakia 2010