SLOVENE, CROATIAN PILGRIMS MEET IN MARIJA BISTRICA

MARIJA BISTRICA, Aug 30 (Hina) - Around 7,000 believers from Croatia and Slovenia, headed by Ljubljana Archbishop Franc Rode and Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, gathered in the Croatian Marian shrine of Marija Bistrica on Saturday at a meeting which is part of preparations to mark Central European Catholic Day. #L# Greeting Slovene believers, bishops and priests who gathered at the open-air Church of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, Archbishop Bozanic said that the pilgrims were meeting as members of the Catholic Church, which had made a deep impact on the identities of both nations. Archbishop Rode celebrated the Eucharist, stating in his sermon that the purpose of today's gathering was to bring the two peoples closer to one another and deepen their friendship. The sermon was also attended by Croatian Vice-Premier Goran Granic, who told reporters the gathering showed that problems between the two peoples should be solved at meetings and not by diplomatic notes, as well as that they were still motivated by political rather than reasons of content. The pilgrimage is part of preparations for Central European Catholic Day, to be held in Austria's Mariazell on 22 May 2004. (hina) rml