Socialist Albania, “the first atheistic state in the world”, has found the simplest way to fight religion: a total ban on it in all forms, including private ones. Thus, Article 37 of the Albanian Constitution of 1976 states that “The State does not recognize any religion; it supports and develops atheistic propaganda aimed at instilling in people a materialistic and scientific conception of the world.” Article 55 of the Criminal Code severely punishes “fascist, anti-democratic, warmongering, religious or anti-socialist activity or propaganda.” (…)
The repression in Albania is reminiscent of the worst years of Stalinism, using the most abhorrent means. That’s why children are asked at school, “Do your parents do this [sign of the cross]? Does your mother have such a necklace [rosary]? No wonder terror has taken over people’s minds to the point of absurdity?
Elisabeth and Jean-Paul Champseix, former French language teachers in Tirana, say that at the university, for fear of being accused of religious propaganda, some students of French literature talked about the works of Antoine Exupéry! (…)
Already in 1980, John Paul II showed interest in this small nation on the other side of the Adriatic, in which thousands of people died. In October 1980, he reached out to Albanians for the first time during a visit to Apulia (200 km in the direct line to Tirana), saying he shared “the sufferings of his brothers and sisters in Albania.”
Bernard Lecomte “The Pope Who Overthrew Lenin”; CLD Publishing House, Tours 2007
