Today is the 16th death anniversary of Father Zef Pllumi. The Minister of State for Relations with the Parliament, Elisa Spiropali, stated today that Father Zef Pllumi is ranked among the great personalities of Albania, with an extraordinary help for our nation to be as strong and worthy as possible, and he has done this with his example and speeches. 

On the 16th anniversary of his death, Spiropali emphasized that he contributed to keeping Albania connected with Europe.

“He, like his fellow priests, constitute that ‘umbilical cord’ that, as Kadareja explains beautifully in the ‘Inevitable Dante’, has contributed to keeping Albania connected to Europe. Father Zef Pllumi has expressed this effort for a stronger connection between Albanian and Western culture: ‘Listen to me Ismail, our history is a history of trenches, today you and me are in the same trench, in defense of European culture and Albanians’ belonging and I am proud of that,” she added.

Spiropali emphasized that “this tendency of the Albanian culture towards the European culture could not be ‘religious’ as such, but natural to the nation, so Father Zefi, in his monumental work ‘Live to tell’, has elaborated the fact that the three religions in Albania have translated the love for God into a perfect model of love for the nation and for man”.

“His testimonies about friendships with imprisoned imams are among the most beautiful pages of Albanian memoirs. All of Father Zefi’s publicism is an epopee of the search for freedom. In the three volumes, his spiritual struggle for freedom is witnessed not only as a personal concept but especially for man as such and on its divine and human foundation. “Peace does not come through violence or revenge, but through justice and forgiveness, Friar preached until the end of his earthly life,” said Spiropali.

According to her, “there is a lot of ‘politics’, in the broadest sense of this word, in Frati’s journalism and it could not be otherwise”.

“The Catholic Church prohibits the direct involvement of priests in politics, but he could not be indifferent to his vocation and his drama: he was in prison for 28 years on political charges. Politics had entered deep into his consciousness sometimes as a punishing monster, and after the collapse of communism as a means of freedom and dignity, when it has the right missionaries. He never hesitated to harshly criticize politicians, especially the sworn ex-communists who were advocating for democracy. For the politicians who keep it as a treasure in our political and spiritual memory, it will always remain as a guide in our political journey, which is sometimes so difficult and full of doubts”, she emphasized.

“Finally, a reminding you of what he gave to some politicians and intellectuals – his friendship. The friar remains a friend of our consciences, their guide and critic. Every time I think with curiosity and admiration of that extraordinary Friar, it seems to me as if the circles of hell have left marks on the sides of his cassock. Let those pains and sacrifices be a great treasure for a complete spiritual rebirth of Albanians”, Spiropali was quoted as saying.

/k.s/