NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The plight of refugees was the top item on the agenda when Pope John Paul II met with the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who were making their ad limina visit on Friday.

      On the last ad limina visit by the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1993, the Pope had expressed deep concern about the radical drop in the number of Catholics living in the divided country, the flood of refugees, and the devastation suffered by the local dioceses during the fighting in central Bosnia-- especially around the dioceses of Banja Luka and Posavina. Now, with the Church in the midst of a major rebuilding project, the Holy Father emphasized the need to guarantee a stable peace, to ensure that refugees are able to return to their homes, and to provide equal treatment for the three main ethnic groups of Bosnia-Herzegovina: the Bosnians, Serbs, and Croats.

      "What is demanded of Catholics should apply to the other religious communities and ethnic groups as well," the Pope said. He encouraged the bishops to continue their active participation in dialogue with other groups, mentioning in particular the Orthodox churches. "Be untiring messengers of pardon and reconciliation," he urged them.

      The bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina, led by Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, reported that the Church is recovering from the devastation of war, and religious vocations have been numerous in the post-war years.