ZAGREB ARCHBISHOP APPEALS FOR PEACE

ZAGREB, March 18 (Hina) - Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic on Tuesday again appealed for peace and prayers for peace, while presenting a letter of bishops in the Zagreb Archdiocese on the occasion of the Lent. #L# Asked by reporters whether the voice of the Church was heard to a sufficient extent in relation to the Iraqi crisis, the dignitary said he and the Croatian bishops' conference had on many occasions appealed for peace and prayers for peace. The Catholic Church in Croatia cordially joined in appeals of Pope John Paul II. "At this moment this is our path and our stance," Bozanic added. Asked to comment on the assassination of Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic, the Primate of the Catholic Church in Croatia answered the killing of any man was a cause for concern. The Catholic Church in Croatia looks at that murder as something which was not good, he said adding that "we are in one country" while this occurred in other. Bozanic called on citizens to take part in efforts aimed at building a more stable Croatia. Commenting on accusations of one Catholic religious teacher of paedophilia, published in a daily, the archbishop said the person was slandered and wrongly accused, and in this context he posed a question about the ethics in the media and reports in Croatia. (hina) ms sb