Romanian Patriarchate Signed Cooperation Protocol With the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity

OCP News Service – Basilica News – 11/04/2023

Bucharest-Romania: Romanian Patriarchate and Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity signed a cooperation protocol on April 11, 2023. The protocol was signed in the context of the Honorary Year of Pastoring the Elderly. Romanian Patriarchate was represented by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania and Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Romania, Marius-Constantin Budăi.

According to Basilica News:

The two institutions with broad and deep social involvement wish to continue and intensify cooperation in the social field, both in terms of long-term care and other social programs and projects aimed at all disadvantaged social categories, supported by the approximately 800 institutions and social services of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

The most important points of this Cooperation Protocol are:

1. Identification of priorities at the local/county and regional level in the field of social assistance and their inclusion in the national mechanism regarding social inclusion;

2. Facilitating the BOR’s access to works, advisory structures/working groups in the social field;

3. Mutual support for the development of the national network of social services provided at the level of BOR dioceses;

4. Implementation of joint projects in the field of social assistance;

5. Information about the financing opportunities made available by the Ministry or from European funds;

6. Involvement of clergy in community advisory councils to identify and solve the problems faced by people in a vulnerable situation, together with social partners, such as the Territorial Administrative Unit , DGASPC and other organizations;

7. Cooperation between the two institutions to promote actions and measures in the field of social assistance within local communities;

8. Promoting social dialogue and exchanging relevant information between the two institutions from the perspective of collaboration in the field of social assistance;

9. Elaboration of common documents in the field of social assistance for the implementation of joint projects and initiatives;

10. The Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity will facilitate the BOR’s access to the works of the National Commission on social inclusion , as well as to the works of other consultative structures/working groups in the social field that involve the participation of civil society;

11. Joint identification of concrete solutions and interventions for specific problems in the field of social assistance, in accordance with the National Strategy on social inclusion and poverty reduction for the period 2022-2027, as well as the National Strategy on long-term care and active aging for the period 2023-2030;

12. The Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity will provide the necessary information from the databases/registers managed by the ministry and the public institutions under its subordination and/or coordination regarding the number of people from vulnerable families at risk of poverty and social exclusion who are eligible in in order to access social services or other related services (care, rehabilitation of the ambient space, recovery, etc.) that can be provided with the support or through the BOR structures;

13. The Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity will support the development of the national network of social services provided at the level of BOR dioceses, in accordance with the development priorities identified in the national strategies and the strategies and annual plans for the development of social services at the county and local level, by offering consulting in the process of accreditation and licensing, according to the law;

14. The Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity will send the BOR necessary information regarding the financing opportunities made available by the ministry or from European funds in order to develop and diversify social services;

15. The Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity will support the efforts of the Romanian Patriarchate to capitalize on the specific potential of the graduates of the Faculties of Orthodox Theology, the Specialization in Orthodox Theology Social Assistance as professionals in the field of social assistance.

Source: Basilica News and OCP News Service