Albania urged to return seized religious property

Europe's biggest grouping of Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant churches has called on Albania to return all sacred property seized from religious communities during 46 years of communist rule that followed the Second World War.

"Much of the property confiscated under communism, after 18 years of democracy, has still to be returned to the churches and other religious communities," the Conference of European Churches said in a statement released on 11 February during a meeting of its 10-member presidium in Tirana and Durrës, the country's second-largest city.