Fr Calciu released

A ROMANIAN Orthodox priest, sentenced in 1979 to ten years imprisonment, was freed on August 20 on grounds of his "age and state of health". Fr Gheorghe Calciu is now being held under virtual house arrest.
Fr Calciu was released from prison in 1963 after serving a 16-year sentence. He was rearrested in 1979 and convicted for denouncing the Romanian state's policy of atheism as "a philosophy of despair".
International pressure had been brought to bear on the Romanian authorities to reconsider the case of Fr Calciu after he applied for inclusion in
an amnesty to mark Romania's National Day (August 25). However, he refused to sign the admission of guilt which is normally required of prisoners freed under such conditions..
Among those to plead for Fr Calciu's release in recent weeks was the Catholic Member of Parliament, David Alton. While attending celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of Romania's liberation after the war, Mr Alton met with top Romanian officials on behalf of his party leader, David Steel, to convey their concern at the deterioration in the health of Fr Calciu.