MESIC PROMISES SUPPORT FOR BH CATHOLIC CHURCH'S JUST EFFORTS

SARAJEVO, March 24 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic on Friday expressed full support for the Catholic Church in Bosnia- Herzegovina and its efforts to secure an equal status for Catholics and Croats in relation to the other two religious and national communities in the country. "The Church here does not ask for anything more than the others have been receiving," Mesic told reporters following an one-hour meeting with Sarajevo Archbishop Cardinal Vinko Puljic. Mesic said this was what Croatia's future policy toward and support for international activities in Bosnia, as well as toward the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the whole country, would be based on. "We will join our forces and I believe we will achieve much more than has been achieved as regards refugee returns, which, in the end, will strengthen the Croat community in Bosnia-Herzegovina," Mesic said. Cardinal Puljic said the return of refugees was the main priority for the Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Sarajevo Archbishop added he had asked President Mesic to help solve problems the Catholic school system in Bosnia was encountering, such as the return of the high school in Travnik (central Bosnia) into the Church's possession. President Mesic has promised to invest efforts in that regard as well, Puljic said. (hina) rml