c. 1996 Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY (RNS)-Three years of acrimony between the rump Yugoslav federation and the Vatican appeared a faded memory Thursday (April 25), as Pope John Paul II and Belgrade’s new envoy to the Holy See both promised respect and understanding.
The new Yugoslav ambassador to the Holy See, Dojcilo Maslovaric, did not refer to his government’s decision to sever diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 1992 or the decision to renew them last February.
Appearing upbeat about their relations, he said,”It is possible to develop a bigger collaboration with the Holy See to achieve good and peaceful cohabitation of the people.” Presenting his credentials at the formal Vatican ceremony, he added,”In keeping with its tradition and with its legal system, today’s Yugoslavia supports the fundamental importance of tolerance and of religious freedom guaranteed to all religions.” The pope, too, said he was committed to mutual understanding. He called on Catholics in the war-torn region to help build a”serene life.” But he also reminded the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav government that it must respect the rights of ethnic minorities, a reference to Roman Catholics and Muslims.
Full rights of ethnic minorities, he said, are a”very vital point both for the correct management of the state institutions but also because it can create in all the regions more dialogue and reciprocal trust between the diverse nationalities that are present.”The cooperation between all the citizens to succeed requires not just knowledge and foresight but also sacrifice and authentic respect of the many forms of the social components according to what has been proposed in numerous international declarations,”the pope said.
Maslovaric, 42, was Yugoslavia’s director of consular affairs in the foreign ministry under Marshal Tito when still in his late 20s. He later served in that post in the Yugoslav embassy in Rome. From 1993 to 1994 he was undersecretary of the Yugoslav federal government.
The civil meeting between Maslovaric and the pontiff was in sharp contrast to the bitter recriminations that flew back and forth between Rome and Belgrade during the war in the former Yugoslavia.
The Vatican, which recognized Croatian independence in 1991, accused Belgrade of slaughtering innocent Croatian and Muslim civilians in the war. Belgrade charged that the Catholic Church was once again taking sides with its historic Croat allies.
Serbs have painful memories of the church’s support for Croatia’s Ustashe regime under the Nazis, which in 1941 began a policy of genocide and forced religious conversion among Orthodox Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia.
In 1994 the Serbian government made clear that the pontiff was not welcome in Belgrade or Sarajevo during his pilgrimage to the region. The pope, angered by his treatment, was able to enter only the Croat region and attend events in Zagreb.
Recently, the pontiff has moved to mend relations. Last October, he met with Catholic bishops from the region and urged them to redouble efforts at reconciliation with Serbian Orthodox Christians.
He also set aside profits from his spiritual book,”Crossing the Threshold of Hope,”for rebuilding efforts in the former Yugoslavia. Most of the money will finance Catholic churches and institutions, though some of the funds are expected to help Orthodox and Muslim communities.
The pope is scheduled to make a three-day pilgrimage to Slovenia, another former Yugoslav republic, next month. He has repeatedly expressed a strong desire to travel to Sarajevo and is widely expected to go there when his safety can be guaranteed.
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