{"id":67158,"date":"2024-03-04T17:23:12","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T16:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=67158"},"modified":"2024-03-04T17:23:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T16:23:12","slug":"house-of-leaves-museum-commemorates-first-victims-of-catholic-clergy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/house-of-leaves-museum-commemorates-first-victims-of-catholic-clergy\/","title":{"rendered":"House of Leaves museum commemorates first victims of Catholic clergy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Museum House of Leaves commemorated the victims of the Catholic clergy, executed near the Rrmaja Cemetery in Shkodra on March 4, 1946.<\/p>\n

During December 1945, communist authorities discovered in Shkod\u00ebr the \u201cAlbanian Union\u201d organization that was led by the young seminarian Mark \u00c7uni. The organization had just issued a few anti-communist tracts around the city of Shkod\u00ebr. For this reason, Father Giovanni Fausti and Father Daniel Dajani were arrested as responsible superiors of the seminary. A total of 39 people were arrested.<\/p>\n

This would be the first organized attack against the Catholic clergy in Albania.<\/p>\n

In the trial held at the \u201cRozafati\u201d cinema, prosecutor Aranit \u00c7ela accused the defendants of \u201cworking to prepare a favorable field for Italian fascism, collaborating with the occupation forces for the legalization of the occupational and for the fascism of the country and the population, assisting the treasonous organizations created by the enemy and the Quisling government, sabotaging the people\u2019s resistance by committing acts of terrorism\u201d, etc. In the absence of evidence, any accusation of committing terrorist acts was denied by the clerics.<\/p>\n

Of the 39 arrested, seven of them were sentenced to death. The execution by firing squad took place near the Rrmaja Cemetery in Shkodra on March 4, 1946, for:<\/p>\n