European Council President receives Cardinal from Sarajevo
The cardinal described how many of the faithful had emigrated from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the number of Catholics had almost halved since the war twenty years ago.
They now number some 440,000.
Cardinal Puljic went on to explain that the discrimination was also evident from the fact that the authorities routinely issues construction permits for mosques, whose number had risen by several dozen in Sarajevo alone over the past few decades, while he had been waiting for 13 years for a permit to erect a small church.
The cardinal also explained how when it came to the return of church buildings, the Church's efforts were stalled even though the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had in one case passed a basic judgment in favor of the Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Dayton Agreement, which had ended the war, had not brought about stability and certainly not equal rights for all. He said that tens of thousands of refugees were still waiting for the opportunity to return.
But despite the discrimination practiced against the Catholic population, the Catholic Church was still working unceasingly for reconciliation with the two other groups, the Muslims and the Orthodox, the cardinal said.
European Council President van Rompuy thanked the Cardinal for his frank words. He believed that the "only way out of the crisis is a European perspective."
He stressed that this would result in greater rule of law, stability and the elimination of discrimination. To bring Bosnia-Herzegovina closer to the European Community and to enable it to attain candidate status, the country had to fulfill the minimum requirements of rule of law, human rights and democracy.
The Cardinal pointed out that the time available was not unlimited. He noted that a certain radicalization was in progress and this worried him. He recalled the pleas of the Bosnia's to the European powers in the Middle Ages for help against the Ottomans.
These pleas had not borne fruit and the Bosniaks had then been suppressed for centuries. Van Rompuy repeated, "one way or the other the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina lies in Europe, namely in its integration in the EU." This gave cause for hope, he thought.
The meeting with the European Council President was the start of a series of conversations with EU parliamentarians and high-ranking members of the EU Commission, with whom possibilities for providing aid to specific reconciliation projects were also discussed.
It was the third time that ACN had organized a program of visits for leading bishops from crisis areas to Brussels, the aim being to make European politicians aware through authentic eye-witness reports of the persecution of or discrimination against Christians.
In previous visits Bishops from Iraq and Pakistan had reported on their situation. This time an area within Europe itself was concerned.
With picture of Cardinal of Sarajevo Vinko Puljic (left) and President Herman Van Rompuy (right). © The Council of the European Union
The Archbishop of Sarajevo, Vinko Cardinal Puljic, used his visit to Brussels to report to the President of the European Council, Hermann van Rompuy, on the growing discrimination against Catholics in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The half-hour long conversation took place in the context of a visit initiated by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).The cardinal described how many of the faithful had emigrated from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the number of Catholics had almost halved since the war twenty years ago. They now number some 440,000.
Cardinal Puljic went on to explain that the discrimination was also evident from the fact that the authorities routinely issues construction permits for mosques, whose number had risen by several dozen in Sarajevo alone over the past few decades, while he had been waiting for 13 years for a permit to erect a small church.
The cardinal also explained how when it came to the return of church buildings, the Church's efforts were stalled even though the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had in one case passed a basic judgment in favor of the Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Dayton Agreement, which had ended the war, had not brought about stability and certainly not equal rights for all. He said that tens of thousands of refugees were still waiting for the opportunity to return.
But despite the discrimination practiced against the Catholic population, the Catholic Church was still working unceasingly for reconciliation with the two other groups, the Muslims and the Orthodox, the cardinal said.
European Council President van Rompuy thanked the Cardinal for his frank words. He believed that the "only way out of the crisis is a European perspective."
He stressed that this would result in greater rule of law, stability and the elimination of discrimination. To bring Bosnia-Herzegovina closer to the European Community and to enable it to attain candidate status, the country had to fulfill the minimum requirements of rule of law, human rights and democracy.
The Cardinal pointed out that the time available was not unlimited. He noted that a certain radicalization was in progress and this worried him. He recalled the pleas of the Bosnia's to the European powers in the Middle Ages for help against the Ottomans.
These pleas had not borne fruit and the Bosniaks had then been suppressed for centuries. Van Rompuy repeated, "one way or the other the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina lies in Europe, namely in its integration in the EU." This gave cause for hope, he thought.
The meeting with the European Council President was the start of a series of conversations with EU parliamentarians and high-ranking members of the EU Commission, with whom possibilities for providing aid to specific reconciliation projects were also discussed.
It was the third time that ACN had organized a program of visits for leading bishops from crisis areas to Brussels, the aim being to make European politicians aware through authentic eye-witness reports of the persecution of or discrimination against Christians.
In previous visits Bishops from Iraq and Pakistan had reported on their situation. This time an area within Europe itself was concerned.
With picture of Cardinal of Sarajevo Vinko Puljic (left) and President Herman Van Rompuy (right). © The Council of the European Union