LJUBLJANA/SARAJEVO/BEOGRAD, June 6 (Hina) - All the influential media in Croatia's neighbour countries report on Thursday and Friday about the pope's pastoral tour of Croatia, stressing it is already the third visit he pays
here.
LJUBLJANA/SARAJEVO/BEOGRAD, June 6 (Hina) - All the influential
media in Croatia's neighbour countries report on Thursday and
Friday about the pope's pastoral tour of Croatia, stressing it is
already the third visit he pays here. #L#
Electronic media in Bosnia-Herzegovina have said John Paul II has
once again been given a very warm welcome and that he is staying for
as long as five days.
Dnevni avaz today cited President Stjepan Mesic's words in
welcoming the Holy Father, whom he reminded that in recent years
Croatia had been working hard on building a culture of peace, which
had been one of the pope's great wishes.
Slovene electronic media announced yesterday the pope would meet
Slovenia's bishops and Ljubljana Archbishop Franc Rode.
Wrote Delo, the country's leading newspaper: "In Croatia, where 88
percent of the population is Catholic, the Church still has a strong
position and an influential role in politics, social affairs, and
education, despite the wave of European liberalism. Recently,
together with the state, it has started an accelerated solving of
unsolved issues, such as the Church's part-ownership portion in
Croatia osiguranje (insurance company), the building of a luxury
military ordinariate, and denationalisation requests".
The messages the pope will give during the visit will be as
expected, said Delo. By saying that Croatia's rich heritage will
strengthen the European Union, the pope "has called on religious
and civilian authorities to work on healing wounds caused by war and
totalitarianism," it wrote.
Delo recalled that when Mesic visited the Vatican late last year,
the Holy Father asked why Croatia was lagging behind Slovenia even
though both states had been gaining independence at the same time.
"One is to expect the Pope will demand compliance with
international commitments because the right wing of Croatia's
clergy openly opposes the extradition of officers to The Hague.
This will be especially delicate in Zadar, where pictures of
General Ante Gotovina, a Hague fugitive, have appeared over the
Pope's billboards," said Delo.
Slovenia second-largest daily, Dnevnik, said today the inclusion
of "today's Balkan states" into Europe was the main political
message of John Paul's visit to Croatia. The spiritual message will
be the moral revival of the entire continent, which Karol Woytila
has been advocating since the beginning of his pontificate, it
said.
Belgrade's Glas javnosti cited Germany's Frankfurter Rundschau,
which said the Croatian government was expecting to benefit
politically from the pope's visit. "The joint appearances of a
former communist (PM Ivica Racan) and the Roman Catholic primate
should help increase the prime minister's popularity with the
population, the majority of which (80 percent) declare themselves
Roman Catholic."
(hina) ha sb