DJAKOVO BISHOPS MEET FOR TALKS WITH U.N. ADMINISTRATOR

OSIJEK, Aug 20 (Hina) - The bishop of Djakovo, Ciril Kos, and bishop coadjutor Marin Srakic on Tuesday met for talks with the UN transitional administrator of Serb-held eastern Croatia, Jacques Klein. The meeting, organized by the Croatian government office for the occupied area, was held in the rectory of the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Osijek. The talks focused on the role of religious communities in the peaceful reintegration process and the possibility of visiting destroyed churches in the UN-administered area. Kos asked Klein to make it possible for Catholic bishops and priests to visit the devastated parishes. "For us, that area is still under occupation because we cannot go there freely," Kos said. Kos recalled that 36 parishes were still occupied and that only one Croatian Catholic priest remained in the entire area, in the border town of Ilok. Klein expressed satisfaction with the meeting and said that he would make every effort to ensure that all people could practice their religion. We are faced with the difficult but important task of building the bridges of Christian reconciliation, Klein said. (hina) vm 201828 MET aug 96