Bloc Life by Peter Molloy

Author:Peter Molloy
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473532052
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

JÁN CHRYZOSTOM KOREC

Having joined the Jesuit Order in 1939, Ján Chryzostom Korec was involved in this underground religious movement from the start and soon became its leader. His journey into a covert religious life began when all Czechoslovakian male religious orders were shut down. The action had been planned in secret some time beforehand with all the precision of a military operation. It was code-named Action K, but it was to become known as the ‘Night of the Barbarians’.

Korec recalls the events of that night. ‘We were woken up by loud banging on our door. There were two of us in each room. We were ordered by a militiaman, wearing his militia cap and with a machine gun in his hands, to get dressed. We all had to gather in front of the chapel. We were given 20 minutes to pack our things. Some of the brothers protested and they were told that if they weren’t silent immediately they would be put up in front of the wall and shot.

‘Finally, we were put on the two buses that were waiting outside. By now, it was 1 a.m. We had no idea what was happening; we thought we were on our way to Siberia. But just after Košice we stopped. We got off at the monastery at Jasov. But there were no monks. It was completely empty. We stayed there for ten days.

‘After that they took us to Podolínec where we stayed a little longer in a ‘concentration monastery’. The youngest men were drafted to work on dam-building sites and those who had gone through military service were taken away as soldiers. A lucky few of us (five, me included) with no military experience were released. We were told to go and find a job and earn a living.’

Korec went to his brother’s house in Nitra. The following year he became one of the world’s youngest bishops at a secret ceremony, but continued working in a series of manual jobs. ‘The statement of approval of our consecration along with several signatures was written on a small piece of white fabric. Each of us sewed it into a suit or article of clothing or a handkerchief so that it could not be found during body searches.’

In May 1951 he moved to Bratislava. It was there that he first realized he was being monitored by the police. ‘I dedicated my life to the Church knowing I could be arrested or executed at any time. It was really hard but we had our internal, spiritual support. We prayed daily and it helped us a lot. For instance, when it came to being put in prison, we believed our being there was helping to fulfil the mission; we knew we were in the right place and that God knew about us.

‘I was very strict and very serious with the secret ministry, and that applied also to the sanctifications. I spelled out to all those who were to become priests and bishops what it really meant

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