Irina Vlah, leader of the Republican Party “Heart of Moldova,” states that “the authorities are pushing the Church toward division and are not even thinking about the chaos this could provoke in the country.” She argues that, in order to preserve peace in society, the fate of the 800 places of worship should be decided not by PAS ministers, but by the believers themselves — through local referendums.

“The government confirms that peace and stability in society do not matter to them. Recently, I addressed an open letter to the Minister of Culture, Cristian Jardan, in which I proposed transferring around 800 churches to the administration of local communities, in the event that the Supreme Court of Justice decides to return them to state management. As expected, the minister pretended not to understand the gravity of the issue, and this is an indirect confirmation that the government has already decided what it intends to do with these churches and is not interested in other proposals.

Certain hints made publicly by government representatives, as well as the way these statements were amplified by loyal media outlets, allow us to draw some conclusions about the authorities’ plans. I will not comment on these plans at this stage so as not to inflame tensions, because for me the peace and stability of our society truly matter. However, I will highlight a few important points,” the politician says.

Irina Vlah insists that “the fate of the churches must be decided strictly by the parishioners who attend them. And this will happen — whether the government likes it or not. We already have several precedents showing that people resist when decisions they disagree with are imposed on them. The ideal option would be to choose a single day on which all affected localities would simultaneously hold referendums on the fate of each church in each specific locality. Only in this way can we ensure that all decisions reflect the will of the people and that we avoid tensions, divisions, and other negative developments that could endanger stability in our society.”

“Secondly, since the authorities have ignored my proposal — the only acceptable solution to a serious problem that the Republic of Moldova may face — I publicly call on the country’s leadership, even at this stage, to take responsibility for the consequences that may arise from the decisions to be adopted if more than 800 churches return to state administration,” she adds.

In this context, the politician reiterates her appeal to reason, addressed to the government: “Do not play with fire! People can forgive you many things — the poverty you have brought them to, the abuses you subject them to periodically, the humiliation you constantly inflict on the people, and so on. But they will never accept and never forgive an attack on the Church!”.