Upon
the establishment of the Cyprus
Republic in 1960, many minority
religious groups became recognized
through constitutional law. Among
these groups were the Maronites,
the Armenians and the Latins.
The Latins, a Roman Catholic
religious group, has a history
that dates back many centuries.
Today
the Latin population is estimated
at approximately 1,700 Cypriot
nationals, while the number of
Latin registered voters is 645.
In
1960, when the Constitution was
being drafted, the group wanted
to be referred to as a "Roman
Catholic religious group". The
Maronites then objected because
they too were Roman Catholic.
Taking the initiative, Sir Hugh
Foot, the last British
Governor of Cyprus, suggested
they be referred to as "Latins".
The group accepted the compromise.
"When
the 1960 Constitution came into
force, our religious group numbered
1,100 people, but it steadily
decreased because of deaths,
mixed marriages and emigration," Benito,
the group's elected representative
said.
"By
1991, when I was elected Representative,
there were only 291 group members
on our list and it seemed that
we were disappearing. Then I
discovered by talking to various
people that many Roman Catholics,
who had obtained citizenship
were uninformed about their constitutional
right to belong to the Latin
religious group."
Benito
Mantovani told The Cyprus
Weekly that now, most Roman
Catholics who become Cypriot
citizens usually leave the section
on their application form for
enrollment to the electoral register
blank. The reason for this is
that most of them are not familiar
with the term or its connotation.
This causes the community to
lose potential members.
When
Benito Mantovani was elected
as the Representative of the
Latin community in 1991, he began
a campaign to locate and register
all the members who were eligible.
He took the initiative after
speaking with various Roman Catholics
who were not properly informed
of their right to be members
of the Latin religious group.
Thus, Mantovani formed an advisory
committee and with the help of
a cultural committee and several
priests from the community, he
managed to raise the population
to what it is presently, 1,700.
Despite
the fact that only about 50 of
the original families are still
living in Cyprus, this does not
stop the Latin community from
preserving their culture and
religion. The Latin religious
group is directly linked with
Rome. Churches have been established
in Nicosia, Larnaca and the Limassol
seafront. They work closely with
other religious groups so they
may maintain their religion.
The
government of Cyprus has arranged
it so that the Latin children
may attend the traditional schools
of Terra Santa and St. Joseph
free of charge.
Community
social gatherings are constantly
being organized, from church
services, to monthly dinners,
to recreational activities.
A
facility, in which computer skills
for employment will be taught,
opened on September 24, 2000.
This facility will offer leisure
activities also.
The
Latin community has established
itself and has created a voice
for itself in Cyprus. The representative,
Benito Mantovani seems hopeful
about the future. He hopes that
the presence of the Latins will
have a positive impact on the
shaping of Cyprus as a whole. |
