ZAGREB ARCHBISHOP HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE ON VISIT TO YUGOSLAVIA

ZAGREB, Aug 11 (Hina) - Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic told reporters in Zagreb on Friday he was satisfied with his meeting with the head of the Serb Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, which, he said, had been held in an atmosphere which characterises the current situation. "The meeting was directed toward what is ahead," Bozanic said, adding he felt that both sides realised that one should accept the current situation and do what was possible. Commenting on his pastoral and ecumenical visit to Yugoslavia, Bozanic said Catholic believers in Yugoslavia's northern region of Srijem, of whom many were of Croat descent, were the first reason for his visit. "I met there believers who had particularly felt and suffered in the past war years," Bozanic said, adding those Catholics "share with us the same religious, cultural and national identity and therefore feel the need to express that unity." Commenting on his meetings with the faithful and clergy, the Zagreb Archbishop said he had heard their inquiries and problems they were encountering in obtaining visas for Croatia at Croatian diplomatic offices, particularly in Belgrade. It is almost impossible for priests to take children and young people on visits to Croatia and its cultural centres due to high visa fees, he warned. Speaking about his return visit to the Serb patriarch, Bozanic said it had been "open in the Christian manner". The meeting focused on "the pastoral problems of our respective churches in those areas where the faithful live together," he said. "Stressed at the talks was cooperation and the establishment of joint guidelines. We also discussed cooperation between representatives of religious communities in some areas. Also discussed was our joint approach to the public as regards values, especially the ones regarding ethics," the Archbishop said. We have agreed that the majority church must see that freedoms of those believers who belong to the minority people in a certain area are respected, he said. "Our believers, our basis, feel the need for community and cooperation as well as for certain closeness. If we believe in the same God, if we have the same Gospel and sacraments, we are called to meet and help each other, and be what we are," Bozanic said, adding Catholic priests in Croatia supported the meeting because the Catholic Church was definitely committed to ecumenism. Commenting on his visit to Sumadija bishop Sava in Kragujevac, Bozanic said it had been a "private return visit." Asked about the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, Bozanic said he had discussed his visit to the faithful in that diocese with Kotor bishop Janjic, however the visit could not take place due to technical reasons. Speaking about the commentary in 'Vjesnik' daily on his meeting with Patriarch Pavle, which raised dust, Bozanic said he did not want to comment on the background of the affair as it was more complex than the article itself. Commentaries are usually entrusted to more experienced reporters, he said, adding it was not good to confront a young man with a situation which was above him. Six editors with the Zagreb-based daily 'Vjesnik' on Wednesday submitted their resignations because, as they said, editor-in- chief Igor Mandic did not take into consideration their opinion that the commentary 'Ecumenism' on Bozanic's visit to the Serb Orthodox Church, by part time reporter Kresimir Dujmovic, not be published. The editors said the article did not "meet the minimum of professional standards" and was insulting for both churches. (hina) rml