NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      BELGRADE (CWNews.com) - Kosovar Serbs, streaming north out of the region as hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees returned to their homes, were urged to remain in their homes by the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch, despite threats of revenge against them.

      Patriarch Pavle appealed to both Serbs and Montenegrins in Kosovo not to abandon their heritage, history, and holy sites in Kosovo, adding that he would himself move to the Pec Patriarchate in western Kosovo, the chief see of the church since 1253. The patriarch said he would seek assurances from the Yugoslav government and NATO peacekeepers that the Serbs would be safe.

      "I will plead with all responsible organs of our state and the highest representatives of the international forces in Kosovo for your lives and property, for your protection and safety," he said. He added that these assurances would be sought for everyone in Kosovo, regardless of religion or ethnic background.

      Church sources in Pristina, the Kosovo capital, are reported by the Belgrade media to have said that the Monastery of Sveta Trojica (The Holy Trinity) at the village of Musutiste has been burnt down and 13 Orthodox churches in Kosovo were abandoned in the face of violence by the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army.

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