greece

David P. Goldman posted this today on First Things’s blog First Thought.  He describes the economic situation in Greece and sketches out some of the social causes and possible outcomes.  In my heart I want what I read here to not be true–but I suspect my hopes are misplaced.

In Christ,

+Fr Gregory

On Feb. 12, I posted this item at my “Inner Workings” blog at Asia Times and on the Spengler blog at First Things:

Although Greece is an EC member, its finances and political system have the character of a banana republic. EC membership, though, enabled Greece to borrow far more money than any banana republic, such that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is about triple that of Argentina just before the latter’s bankruptcy in 2000. And because Greece is an EC member, the size and adumbrations of a bankruptcy would be much, much larger than that of any Latin American country.

Earlier I had assumed that we were watching a negotiation: Brussels would shout “Never!,” the Greeks would throw tantrums, and eventually some compromise would be reached and the situation would be stabilized.

Closer examination of the political situation in Greece makes me less optimistic. Greece may be suffering from an inoperable cancer, in the form of a degree of corruption that make a resolution without bankruptcy very difficult to implement.

Here are some comments by a political observer in Athens who has written to me privately: Continue reading →

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MbEL-C7ypU[/youtube]

The head of the Greek Orthodox Church has warned the country’s new socialist government that it faces a major battle over removing religious symbols from schools. The European Court in Strasbourg has ordered Italy to take down crucifixes from its classrooms, and Greece’s Justice Minister has acknowledged that it may have to follow suit. From Lamia in Central Greece, Malcolm Brabant reports. “This is a major battle of faith, which is just beginning,” he says.

From Moscow, December 21 (RIA Novosti):

Europe’s future unthinkable without Christianity – Patriarch Kirill

The future of the European continent is impossible without taking into account its Christian heritage, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said Monday.

“People who attached great significance to European cultural and religious identity as an important element of pan-European wellbeing were among the EU originators,” Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said in a message to the European Union’s first President Herman Van Rompuy, who will take office from January.

“I hope… you will be able to pay attention to European international structures’ dialogue with Europe’s traditional religious communities, among which is the Russian Orthodox Church,” the message said.

“I believe it will lead us to the understanding that without being guided by Christian heritage, the future of the European continent is unthinkable,” it said.

In November the European Court of Human Rights ruled that crucifixes in Italian schools insult the feelings of children belonging to other faiths and atheists, and said the authorities should remove the Christian symbols. Italy’s government said it will appeal the ruling.

From the Telegraph:

Around 1,000 firefighters and soldiers were able to take advantage of a lull in strong winds that had fanned the blaze for four days to bring some of the areas under control.

The high winds were expected to ease further on Tuesday, Greece’s National Weather Service said, although the risk of flare-ups remained.

The government faced accusations that its handling of the wild fires, which broke out on Friday and swept through suburbs on the capital’s northern and eastern flank, was “criminal negligence”.

Terrified homeowners described how they had begged for help from firefighters and local authorities but were forced to flee their houses when no assistance arrived.

Many were reduced to fighting the blazes with garden hoses and even tree branches.

But the government defended its handling of the fires, blaming extremely strong winds for their intensity.

A spokesman said firefighters’ efforts had been “extraordinary” and that it was a tribute to their hard work that there was no loss of life or serious injury.

But its handling of the crisis was attacked by opposition parties and the press.

The mayors of more than a dozen towns and villages angrily demanded more aerial support, while many residents complained of being left to fight the flames alone.

The mayor of the town of Marathon, Spyros Zagaris, said he had “begged” the government to send water-dumping aircraft but to no avail.

A dozen nuns were evacuated from a convent near the village of Nea Makri, north of Athens, as flames raced down a mountainside towards the ancient building.

“The flames were 30 metres (100 feet) high,” said one of the sisters, wearing a black habit and a surgical mask to ward off the smoke. “Thankfully they came and rescued us.”

Water-bombing planes and helicopters from Greece, Italy, Cyprus and France repeatedly doused the flames, swooping low over burnt out woodland and olive groves.

“The intensity of the fire is weakening and the area under our control is growing,” said a fire department spokesman, Yiannis Kapakis.

The battle against the fire will be crucial to Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, whose government is clinging to a one-seat majority.

It is not yet clear how the conflagration started but hundreds of forest fires affect Greece every summer and many are lit intentionally often by unscrupulous land developers or farmers seeking to expand their grazing land.

The head of the environmental group WWF said the government had failed to crack down on rogue developers who build homes illegally in burnt forest areas.

“A compete overhaul is required in the way we deal with forest fires. There is no sign the (government) is moving in the right direction,” said Dimitris Karavellas.

Turkish newspapers say a deal is in the works. Will there be reciprocity from Greece? When President Obama was in Turkey, there were reports that “the recognition by Greek authorities of muftis in Thrace and financial support for Muslim schools might prompt a Turkish rethink on the Halki school.” Here is the story from Hurriyet, the Turkish newspaper:

ANKARA – The Halki seminary on the island of Heybeliada is to be reopened, Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay said, adding that they are searching for a formula to integrate the Orthodox theological school into Turkey’s university system. “Although we have not finalized a decision in the Cabinet, my personal impression is that we are going to open the seminary,” said Günay, speaking on Kanal 24 television over the weekend.

Recalling that the functioning of the Halki seminary is not compatible with the Turkish university system, Günay maintained that work is underway to find a formula for its status. He explained that the question is whether the seminary would function like a university, which then has to be integrated into the Turkish university system, or if it would function like an autonomous private high school.

One of the latest proposals was for the seminary to become a private university under the auspices of a foundation, such as how Koç University was established under the auspices of the Vehbi Koç Foundation. The Heybeliada University would be set up under the Ayatriada Foundation with the patriarch chairing the latter and people with Turkish citizenship making up the rest of the board. However, the patriarch has rejected the idea.

The expectation of the reopening of Halki Seminary, which has been closed since 1971, has been long spelt out by the European Union in the course of entry talks and was lately expressed by U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to Turkey in April.

State Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış said that reopening Halki Seminary was a domestic issue for Turkey, in an interview with the Greek daily Kathimerini, reported the Anatolia News Agency on Sunday.

Reciprocity principle

“Turkey needs to address the religious needs of the Orthodox community as well as Greece needs to address the needs of the Turkish community in Western Thrace. These are domestic matters for both countries,” said Bağış. Although the reciprocity principle is not a must, both countries must tackle the problems simultaneously Bağış underlined.