National Press Review, 12 May

The tensions between the Jerusalem Patriarchate and the Romanian Patriarchate, the political influence on public acquisitions and Romania’s recovery from economic recession are the main subjects approached in today’s newspapers.

The Adevărul explains today, I quote, ‘What caused the grief of The Blessed’, afterthe Jerusalem Patriarchate posted on their official website a notice of breaking of communion with the Romanian Orthodox Church.

‘Pride in the Holy Country stirs Orthodoxy’, the journalists from the Adevărul consider, who claim that the official reason given for the breaking of fraternal relations – respectively,the Romanian Patriarchate has built a monastery and a pilgrim house in Jericho, without consent from the local Patriarchate, those ate just pretexts to solve an old dispute: Jerusalem’s reaction came after two months from a Pan-Orthodox meeting held in Switzerland, an event where the Russian Patriarchate and the Romanian Patriarchate were against the Greek Bishops, namely the Jerusalem Bishop, Theophilos III.

Beyond speculations, we know for sure that Romanian Patriarch Daniel, will NO longer be mentioned in church services and Romanian priests will no longer be received in the altars from the holy Country – at least till the situation is clarified, as per the article in the Adevărul newspaper.

Not to mention that last year about 40 thousand Romanians visited Jerusalem with help from the Pilgrimage office of the Romanian Patriarchy, according to the official numbers quoted by the Adevărul.

The tensions between Patriarchates are a subject also approached in the Jurnalul Naţional – Romanian ArchimandriteIeronim Creţu, the superior of the Romanian settlements in the holy places, when contacted by journalists he said that he had not yet been officially announced by Jerusalem of removal from his duty.

The România Liberă proposes today an interview with the president of the National Authority for Regulating and Monitoring of Public Procurement,Cristina Trăilă, who discovered that, I quote, ‘there are many and consistent irregularities also in City halls and Ministries, but those are more difficult to track down, because one hand washes another’.

The head of the Public Procurement informs about a breach of this closed system, for the România Liberă: Minister of Transports Anca Boagiu urged the Justice to check what happened in the mandate of her predecessor Radu Berceanu.

Politics have no longer the same influence on the domain of auctions, it also stands out from the interview with the ANRAP president, mentioning that, as featured by the România Liberă, Cristina Trăilă is a member of the PDL and she is aimed for a higher position in the party on Saturday’s elections.

The Evenimentul Zileialso mentions the PDL elections, which states: regardless of their political position, whether they support Emil Boc orVasile Blaga, Liberal-Democrats will NOT leave the government.

Some of them rely on continuity, others on political change.

The Evenimentul Zilei also informs us that Romania will recover from economic recession starting tomorrow.

The journalists contacted several financial analysts who assured us about Romania’s recovery.

The official announcement will be made public after the National Institute of Statistics will present the economic development of the first quarter of the year.

In this context, the specialists contacted by the Evenimentul Zilei that the data will practically announce the end of the recession, as previously estimated by the Government and the IMF.

We escaped from recession… but how can we handle the crisis, the journalists from the Evenimentul Zilei wonder.

Translated by: Mihaela Grigoraş

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University