By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
BUCHAREST, August 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Alliance of Romania’s Families, a group headed by prominent Christian leaders and intellectuals of Romania's Christian community, have launched a manifesto of Christian conscience. The effort is patterned on similar actions taken by U.S., UK, and Australian Christians which have resulted in the Manhattan Declaration, Westminster Declaration, and the Canberra Declaration.
The Timisoara Declaration calls on the Romanian State and public officials to respect and take into account, in the drafting and implementing of laws and public policy, the fundamental values and Christian faith of the Romanian people. In this way state officials could avoid conflicts, both of conscience or policy, between citizens and the authorities which hand down the laws.
“In the modern age human society has experienced major political, social, cultural and economic changes,” the preamble to the Declaration states, noting that “this state of affairs has brought about the precipitation of certain trends which undermine the fundamental values of human society. Aggressive secularism, radical tendencies to redefine the family, and the marginalization of moral and Christian values have become a palpable reality.”
The document outlines and affirms the precepts of basic human dignity, the right to life from the moment of conception and continuing till natural death, and the family based on marriage between one man and one woman as the divinely created fundamental institution of society. The signatories go on to proclaim that Christian values transcend “all transient social transformations or the spirit of one age or another,” and that, as the Christian faith is the “common, timeless and absolute point of reference” for Romanian citizens, “every elected official or representative must represent the individuals who comprise his constituency and assert their values.”
“This is not a theological declaration or statement,” stated Mr. Bogdan Mateciuc, Executive Director of the Alliance.
“It is an expression of views on important social institutions and matters with which the world confronts itself, Romania included. These views are nonnegotiable. They are of Christian inspiration and have their roots in basic notions of morality and human decency. They are common to all cultures, major religions, and across time boundaries. They are shared by the overwhelming majority of Romania’s citizens, regardless of their Christian affiliation.”
A press release from the Alliance of Romania’s Families says the Timisoara Declaration draws its name from the city of Timisoara where the Alliance held its annual conference in March of this year, and where nearly 21 years ago the Romanian revolution started and which, in only a matter of days, brought about the end of totalitarian rule in Romania. The revolution was started peacefully by a group of Christians who protested, publicly, the infringement of their rights by secular (communist) authorities.
“After 21 years a new revolution, this time of spiritual and of moral renewal, can be birthed in the same place,” the statement said.
“This is a crucial document,” said Dr. Peter Costea, President of the Alliance. “It affirms in direct and forceful terms the foundational pillars of what a sound society should be all about.”
The Declaration calls on Romanian Christians to apply and promote their faith and values in public life. “We cannot be Christians only when we are at home or only when we are in church. This faith guides our daily lives and daily actions, at all times and in all places. It cannot be hidden.”
“We invite the world community to join us in proclaiming these principles, loudly and unambiguously, by signing, disseminating and making known our Declaration,” the press release concludes.
The full text of the Timisoara Declaration (in Romanian and English) can be found here.
More information may be obtained by contacting:
Mr. Bogdan Mateciuc
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +40-745-783-125
Dr. Peter Costea
3 Riverway, Suite 1800
Houston, Texas 77056
Phone: 713-337-4304
Fax: 713-659-5302
Email: [email protected]
See related LSN article:
“Manhattan Declaration” Embodies U.S. Christian Pushback against Abortion, Same-Sex “Marriage”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09112004.html