By Bohumil Petrík for CNA
EWTN News, Dec 17, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
In a strongly secular European Union, the Balkans’ complex religious reality plays an important role as officials and diplomats gather on Wednesday to discuss the membership plans for six nations.
The EU-Western Balkans summit on Dec. 17 brings together European Union representatives and their counterparts from six Western Balkan nations: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
As officials discuss EU enlargement and current challenges, religious leaders and analysts underscore that the churches — deeply woven into the region’s national identities, geopolitics, and social fabric — will be crucial to the success of both European integration and regional stability.
The EU considers itself the main trading partner, investor, and donor for the Western Balkans and provides substantial assistance and financial support to the region. However, the religious landscape — marked by Orthodox majorities, significant Muslim populations, and Catholic minorities — reflects complex historical, ethnic, and political tensions that shape the region’s future.
“We hope that the trend of the enlargement is still serious and that it will be confirmed,” Serbia’s ambassador to the Holy See, Sima Avramović, told CNA.
Currently, there is a concern about “Russian influence, especially in Serbia, so the EU will try to discuss how to stabilize this area,” Lucio Caracciolo, founder and director of the Italian geopolitical magazine Limes, said in a conversation with CNA. At the same time, he warned of “the lack of the political will and funds to support” these countries before they are accepted to the 27-member EU.
There are many ethnic groups and three main religious communities in the Western Balkans: Orthodox, Muslim, and Catholic. Albania and Kosovo are mostly Muslim, with the latter at more than 90%. Half of Bosnia and Herzegovina is Muslim. Almost three-quarters of the population in Montenegro belong to the Orthodox Church.
On the contrary, around half of the population in North Macedonia is Orthodox, followed by Muslims and other Christians. The biggest country in terms of inhabitants and area is Serbia, with more than 80% Orthodox believers, followed by other minorities.
The “Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025” by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) appreciated positive prospects for religious freedom in Albania and North Macedonia. It sees mostly difficulties in others; for instance, “the promotion and protection of religious freedom in Kosovo is fragile,” whereas in Montenegro, “persistent ethno-religious tensions typical of the Balkans are felt,” but ACN recognized efforts made to overcome them.
While Albania was an isolationist communist nation, the other Balkan states were part of the more liberal communist country of Yugoslavia. After the federation’s collapse in 1991, Slovenia and Croatia proceeded toward European integration, becoming EU and NATO members.
The Orthodox churches are important in the countries where they represent a majority religion also for their role “in the nation-building process and in the consolidation of the local nation-states,” expert on Orthodox Christianity Daniela Kalkandjieva from the Sofia University of St. Kliment Ohridski in Bulgaria told CNA.
At times, they are unable “to exert significant influence on their local society.”
Recently, the Orthodox churches have diverged in opinions “to such political and socio-economic challenges as the refugee crisis, the anti-COVID vaccination, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” she explained.
The spread of the “Russian World” concept and “holy war” are “new challenges to the very ethos of Eastern Orthodoxy as a Christian denomination and provoked tensions and disunity among the adherents of this religious tradition.”
On this note, Caracciolo said that some of these churches are “certainly connected to some powers in Russia and also in the Balkans, which are often in conflict with each other.”
However, the secretary of the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church — Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO), Bishop Kliment, said that they “cultivate sisterly relations” with the churches of “closest neighboring peoples.”
In a statement sent to CNA, the bishop emphasized that we “build bridges of trust among us, prioritizing solidarity and unity in faith” through Eucharistic communion, mutual visits and joint services, cooperation in education, and the like.
Catholic-Orthodox relations are also complex. Though “there is always a room for more cooperation,” with Catholics, there are “good relations, mutual support, and understanding.” He mentioned the traditional annual meeting held for more than half a century in Rome in honor of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and Pope Francis’ visit to North Macedonia in 2019.
Whereas some Orthodox churches collaborate and pray with Catholic representatives, “others find such interactions incompatible with the Orthodox doctrine and maintain mostly diplomatic relations with the Holy See,” explained Kalkandjieva, who also lectures at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.
Along the same line, Avramović underscored that the religious leaders in Serbia “meet on different occasions and discuss important social, religious, and other significant issues.”
There are seven traditional churches and religious communities in his homeland, including the Slovak Evangelical Church, the Jewish community, and the Muslim community.
When it comes to the EU, the local Orthodox churches perceive the Union “as an important factor in the lives of their believers” and some have representation offices in Brussels, where many EU institutions are based. Nonetheless, this official dialogue and collaboration are little known in their home countries, Kalkandjieva stressed.
The MOC-AO, which represents the largest religious institution and community in North Macedonia, respects the will of the majority of its citizens and its faithful, who support European integration, Kliment underscored. We “attentively follow the complex internal challenges of the EU,” he added. The Orthodox bishop underlined that it should be “a platform for political and economic stability, fully respecting religious freedoms and the rule of law.”
A few months ago, Croatian Member of the European Parliament Tonino Picula caused a controversy as he posted an old picture of himself on X, posing with a gun commemorating Operation Storm. It occurred in 1995 as Croatia took control of what it considered the occupied territories in the south, which was a self-proclaimed republic. As the Croatian army came, thousands of Serbs fled to Serbia.
The social media post sparked backlash not only from Serbia but also from European politicians who called Picula’s statement disturbing and highly politically dangerous.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
The First Advent: Honoring Jesus in the Womb
Extra, extra! News and views for Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Rome Newsroom, Nov 16, 2020 / 10:04 am (CNA).- Catholics in France gathered outside churches in multiple cities this weekend calling on the government to allow them to attend Mass during the national lockdown.
Protests took place across France, including in Nantes, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Rennes, and Versailles, Nov. 14 and 15. A Sunday protest planned in Paris in front of the Church of Saint-Sulpice was prevented by police after authorities said that it violated an order against praying in the streets, according to the AP.
Under France’s second lockdown, all public religious gatherings throughout the country, including public Masses, have been suspended until at least Dec. 1. All non-essential businesses, including restaurants, are closed, but schools remain open.
A legal appeal by the French bishops’ conference was rejected by the Council of State Nov. 7. The bishops had argued that the prohibition of public Masses violates freedom of worship.
At the outdoor gatherings, Catholics sang hymns and prayed the rosary under police supervision.
Catholic demonstrators can be seen in photos holding signs that read “We Want Mass” and “God the King.”
In Nantes, nearly 300 people stood in the rain in front of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary Nov. 15 and chanted: “Give us back the Mass.”
“Normally we should be at mass this Sunday morning. But we don’t have the right. We are deprived of this right for the second time in a row,” Marc Billig, one of the organizers of the Nantes protest, told local media.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that he would meet religious representatives Nov. 16 after French bishops proposed the resumption of Masses with attendance limited to 30% of each church building’s capacity. The French daily Le Monde reported Nov. 16 that the current restrictions are not expected to be lifted until early December at the earliest.
In some dioceses, bishops urged Catholics not to gather outside in protest in light of the coronavirus lockdown.
“Let’s be patient,” Bishop Michel Dubost, apostolic administrator of Lyon, said Nov. 13.
“Let us not come together, neither outside nor inside churches, and show our ability to respect the frameworks given to us in the name of public health,” Dubost said.
Europe is currently experiencing a second wave of coronavirus cases, which has led Ireland and England to impose lockdowns and suspend public Masses, while Italy and Spain have implemented regional restrictions and curfews.
There have been more than 1.9 million coronavirus cases in France this year which has led to the deaths of 42,603 people, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.
French health authorities reported Nov. 15 that the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care has fallen since France implemented its lockdown, but these patients still take up 96% of the country’s ICU beds, AP reported.
In response to the French bishops’ appeal, a judge specified that churches can remain open during the lockdown and that Catholics can go to a church near their homes regardless of distance if they carry the necessary paperwork. Priests will also be allowed to visit people in their homes and chaplains to visit hospitals.
Catholic weddings can take place with a maximum of six people and funerals with no more than 30 people in attendance.
This was the second week of Catholic protests for some French cities. On Nov. 8 more than 500 Catholics gathered in front of the cathedral in both Nantes and Versailles, according to French RTL.
“They sang hymns, there was the prayer of the rosary, it lasted an hour, ” Bishop Bruno Valentin, auxiliary bishop of Versailles, told AFP.
[…]
Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris. / Ibex73 via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Paris, France, Dec 16, 2021 / 06:35 am (CNA).
Archbishop Michel Aupetit said this week that he is preparing to sue a French magazine for defamation.In an interview with … […]
Female pilgrim on Camino Portuges de la Costa, Portugal, August 2021. / Photo credit: Confraternity of St. James – Croatia
Dubrovnik, Croatia, Mar 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Since the Middle Ages, a great number of ancient roads throughout Euro… […]
“for instance, “the promotion and protection of religious freedom in Kosovo is fragile” — this is nonsense! Where do you guys get the news about Kosovo? At least do you job by checking the facts; consider reaching the Kosovan Catholic clergy or, at least, Kosovan Catholics. Ever since Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence Catholicism and Protestantism are growing. There’s a significant movement for conversion from Islam to Christianity. So far there have been no backlashes nor issues. There’s no religious based discrimination, Catholics are represented in every institution. The only issue remains with the Serbian Orthodox Church – which again is not of religious character but rather ethno-nationalist.
Your email address will not be published.
All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.
*
*
BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV to appoint next archbishop of New York
Extra, extra! News and views for Wednesday, December 17, 2025
The First Advent: Honoring Jesus in the Womb
Little Sisters of the Poor file another appeal over contraception mandate
“Why isn’t it sufficient for discipleship to know the teachings of Jesus, to know the Christian values? Why is it necessary to be baptized?” — Pope Benedict XVI, “Lectio Divina,” St. John Lateran, June 11, […]
© Catholic World Report
You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/
Sign up to receive a weekly email with news, analysis, and commentary from a voice you can trust!