Missionary Trip to Albania—Reported by Joannes Bucher, June 2010 

Is Albania a country with a future?

Looking back in history, we find that Albania has had a long tradition of strong families. However, after a long period of religious persecution from the communist government, abortion has now become a harsh reality. The fertility rate is at an all time low of 1.68; Albanian society is dying out at an exceedingly rapid rate. Albanian families with an average of 5.5 children per family (like in the sixties) are definitely a thing of the past. This gives rise to the question of whether there is still hope for the country.

My visit to Albania

My travel companions in Albania were Dr. Antun Lisec, M.D., from Croatia, a pro-life pioneer in the Eastern hemisphere; and the executive director for Caritas (a Catholic International Relief Organization), Dr. Melijnda Goni.

We arrived at Mother Teresa Airport on June 16, 2010. The next day, early in the morning, we met with a local hospital director and doctor who is well-known in Albania for his pro-life statements. We discussed a plan to build a chapel for pregnant women who are at risk of choosing abortion and to offer them pro-life leaflets containing a list of contacts they could turn to for help.

Joannes Bucher (right) with Bishop Georg Frendo of Albania.

In the afternoon, we spoke with the Right Reverend Georg Frendo. This auxiliary bishop praised how determinedly pro-lifers are fighting the “Death Peddlers” (abortion promoters) in Albania. He delivered an impressive homily during the Holy Mass; the thrust of his sermon focused on the maxim: “Life is precious!” I was struck by this realization: if only all Albanian bishops would stand up together for LIFE, how fruitful they could be!

We spent the evening as guests on the radio station Radio Maria, asking our listeners to pray and fast in order to help women and men welcome the fruit of the womb. We also tried to enlighten our listeners on fundamental pro-life matters.

On Friday, June 18, we saw the beautiful northern part of the country. We gave a lecture to the medical doctors in Materniteti Mbreteresha Geraldin, discussing bioethics and taking questions for a full hour. Our discussions really showed me how critically important it is to discuss pro-life issues with medical professionals.

One of the things we have learned from the worldwide abortion debate is that it has been largely a battle over words. There is a rule in political science that says: “Verbal engineering always precedes social engineering.” This means that if you are going to manipulate people, you must first influence their speech habits. The mass media avoid words like “the killing of unborn children,” “rejecting a gift of the Lord,” and “the fruit of the womb.” Instead, they use phrases like, “interruption of pregnancy” or “termination of pregnancy.” Such phrases cause reality to slowly disappear under a blanket of semantic sophistry, having an impact on the whole society.

Valiant PRO-LIFE Apostles

Mother Teresa’s sisters in Durres welcomed us during a visit to their home for the elderly. I told the elderly that if they offer up their suffering in union with Christ’s, they can be most effective pro-life apostles. There is an impressive story about a nun who often protested outside an

abortion mill. When she found out that she had developed cancer,

A talk given in the Basilica of Tirana, Albani

she said, “Jesus, I give you my cancer, I don’t want to be healed, but please close this ´killing center.´” She died on Childermas Day (Holy Innocents Day, December 28, which commemorates the slaughtering of the infants by Herod), and, amazingly, the following day, the abortion clinic was shut down, due to deplorable and unsanitary conditions. We must remember: every small or great suffering endured and every small or great sacrifice offered in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will have an unbelievable impact on the culture of life.

After Holy Mass at the Heart of Jesus and Don Bosco Church in Tirana, we had a powerful discussion with some very motivated persons from the parish. I have great hope that our discussion will bear fruit through prayer vigils and sidewalk counseling.

The Urgency of the Hour

If we realize the weight of the tragedy of 55 million abortions around the world every year, we can also understand what Msgr. P. Reilly said: “Behind abortion is a spiritual war – it is evil!” John Paul II coined the words that epitomize the enemy’s fruit in this war on life when he called it a “culture of death.” This Holy Father saw the whole picture, not just the visible but also the spiritual reality taking place. He warned us in his Encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, that “urgent prayer is needed” (no. 100).

Msgr. Reilly of New York has responded to John Paul II’s urgent call to battle with not only prayer, but also sidewalk counseling. His prayer vigils, with the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, are were held once a month and included the celebration of Mass, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for adoration and then a procession to abortion centers. At the centers, he and his helpers distribute pro-life information to women who were going in to have abortions. He has had tremendous success; in the course of seven years, 37 abortion centers have been closed, and thousands of women have changed their minds, deciding to allow their babies to continue to live!

In Austria, we have adopted Msgr. Reilly’s model. In 13 years, over 13,000 babies have been saved, and four abortion centers have been shut down! Msgr. Reilly’s model could be used in every country that suffers from abortion-on-demand. We cannot change the hearts of women, but we can, first of all, pray to God that HE changes their minds and hearts, and then we have the responsibility to bring these women real help. This is such a grace!

Family Planning, God’s Way

Another point for reflection is that, although the world promotes contraception, Catholics must be cognizant of the fact that it is a sin, fostering promiscuity and ultimately the culture of death.^[1] If we separate sex from love, the final consequence is often abortion; a large number of pregnancies and abortions happen because contraceptives fail. A pronounced contraceptive mentality fosters a frivolous abortion mentality. We must furthermore be aware that a lot of contraceptives are actually abortifacients! We cannot even know how many children are killed by “contraceptives.”

Albania gave the world an incredible saint, Mother Teresa, who was always ready to speak in defense of life and to promote Natural Family Planning (NFP) to couples. If a couple really does need to avoid pregnancy for a time, the Church allows for NFP, which, unlike artificial contraception, respects life and spouses and allows every marital act to remain open to a new child, in accord with God’s design. Notably, Catholic couples using NFP have a less than 1% divorce rate.^[2] NFP also has a success rate far superior to that of artificial contraceptives; science has shown that 1 condom out of 12 fails and that condoms do not effectively prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Anti-Life Agenda

On Sunday we had the opportunity of giving a lecture after Holy Mass, and Archbishop Rrok K. Mirdita was kind enough to welcome us. Dr. Antun discussed with him how an organization called the Anti-Life Agenda works for the glory of death in Albania. They want to establish a “year of the condom” next year! The power and money of the Anti-Life Agenda has had a disastrous impact on the Albanian nation; they have been spreading an anti-life contraceptive mentality, always invoking “a woman’s right to choose.” The Anti-Life Agenda has a direct connection with the government and is able to lull women into a false sense of security.

We have to face the truth about the silent war against unborn babies. Who will take care of them? Who is going to unmask the deceptive

Joannes speaks to medical doctors in Albania.

technical term “sexual and reproductive health?”

Albanian Christians will have to stand up and fight for their children. HLI is eager to help! To start, in a few months we will print 5,000 copies of the booklet, Miriam Why are You Crying? In Europe the book has turned out to be tremendously successful, helping so many women choose life and fostering healing for those who have already chosen abortion. By reading the testimonies in the book, women realize they are not alone in their suffering and allowing themselves time to grieve is a critical first step in the healing process.

It will also be important to build a crisis pregnancy center in Albania in order to offer counsel and help to women in need. I firmly believe that if more people join us in prayer, especially in vigils at abortion mills, God will generously provide for a pro-life crisis pregnancy center.^[3] We must also encourage the bishops in Albania to promote critical pro-life issues at regular times every year. Additional potential pro-life endeavors in Albania include the organization of pro-life marches and conventions, such as bioethics conferences.

So, let’s fulfill with all zeal and love what a great pope once called us all to do: “You are called to stand up for life! To respect and defend the mystery of life always and everywhere, including the lives of unborn babies, giving real help and encouragement to mothers in difficult situations. You are called to work and pray against abortion” (Pope John Paul II).