40 HERZEGOVINA FRANCISCANS COMPLAIN ABOUT BISHOP PERIC

MOSTAR, July 2 (Hina) - A group of Herzegovina Franciscans told a news conference today the bishop of Mostar and Duvno, Ratko Peric, annulled the confessional rights to forty Franciscans who refused to sign a statement sent by bishop Peric. They accused Peric of wanting to oust Franciscans in Herzegovina. The statement sent by Peric to be signed, Father Vlako Kozina said, requested the friars to denounce several parishes in Herzegovina, as well as friars who were dismissed from the Franciscan rank for insubordination. Father Andrija Nikic claims that the forty punished Franciscans have a total of 1,250 years of priesthood service.. Nikic directly accused bishop Peric of wishing to "uproot Franciscans in Herzegovina". Bishop Peric is creating a rift in the Herzegovina Franciscan province and is punishing innocent friars, Father Nikic said, asserting Peric will be held accountable before God for "the shortened life" of Father Nedjeljko Martinovic, who greatly suffered, Nikic said, after bishop Peric dismissed him. Describing bishop Peric as a "hypocritical and chaotic person," Father Nikic criticised his speech at the constitutive session of the Croat People's Congress in March, saying bishop Peric then blended in the political moment for personal benefit. (hina) lml