The dignitaries told a news conference that of 2,860,000 Bosnians who fled their homes during the 1992-1995 war, a mere 400,000 have returned so far. For instance, just a few thousand refugees have come back to their prewar homes that are now in the Serb entity, they added.
The bishops also urged officials and others who can do it to support the return of those who wish to come back.
Banja Luka Bishop Franjo Komarica said that of 220,000 prewar Catholics in his diocese, which is mainly on the territory of the current Serb entity, there are now only 12,000.
On Saturday, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, Bishop Komarica and other dignitaries as well as the primate of the Catholic Church in Croatia, Cardinal Josip Bozanic, will hold a religious service in the Banja Luka cathedral to mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of 'Vrhbosanska Metropolitan Area" and the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Banja Luka diocese.