BISHOPS CONFERENCE'S PRESS OFFICE DENIES ARTICLE IN ZAGREB WEEKLY

ZAGREB, Oct 29 (Hina/IKA) - The press office of the Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK) on Tuesday dismissed claims from an article by reporter Mladen Plese, headlined "The Vatican Saves Bozanic", published in the latest issue of "Nacional" weekly. #L# The denial, which was signed by the office's head Anton Suljic, notes that the article includes a series of fabrications and totally arbitrary conclusions which have no basis in reality. In its Tuesday issue the weekly reported that Bozanic had been elected HBK president at a recent HBK session only after an energetic intervention by the Vatican. It claims that the Vatican learned of the news that most bishops intended to nominate Split- Makarska bishop Marin Barisic or Rijeka bishop Ivan Devcic for the post of HBK president. Through its apostolic nuncio to Croatia, Giulio Einaudi, the Vatican forwarded a message that the Holy See had decided that Bozanic should remain at the post. Although insulted and disgruntled, the bishops obeyed the order from Rome and voted for Bozanic, Plese wrote in the article. The HBK notes in its statement, among other things, that Plese's main theories, as well as the entire article, bordered on criminal liability for libel. The statement notes that Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic was elected in the first round with the majority of votes and that the vote was only one item on the agenda of the session, which was concluded rather quickly, when all bishops attended. "The apostolic nuncio to Croatia, Archbishop Giulio Einaudi, did not attend that part of the session and could not influence the outcome of the vote," reads the denial, carried by the Catholic News Agency (IKA). (hina) rml sb