such activities, and cecan's stance on papal infallibility, were openly criticized by conservative bishops—in particular, by roman ciorogariu of oradea. in his polemic with bishop roman, made public in early 1933, cecan insisted that a unified church would naturally be led by the popes. during that interval, he lamented the decline of orthodoxy, concluding that: "our church no longer wields any influence upon society, upon the institutions of the state, or upon the life of the nation. it neither enlightens nor warms the souls of the faithful." in rendering his verdict, "the tablet" saluted cecan as an "earnest man and acute thinker". the letter to bishop roman also included a critique of atheism, which cecan associated with masonry, claiming that they acted under a "unified command". also according to cecan, pope pius xi was the herald of anti-masonry resistance, much more powerful in this respect than the orthodox bishops. he expanded on such topics in the march 3 issue of "viața basarabiei", where he responded to the attacks of an unnamed ortodox journalist. in this piece, he announced that he and other supporters of the "world united church" met and prayed weekly at chișinău city hall.