COUNCIL OF BISHOPS' CONFERENCES WRITES TO SERB PATRIARCH PAUL

ZAGREB, May 18 (Hina) - Bishop of Prague and Chairman of the EuCouncil of Bishops' Conferences of Europe, Miloslav Vlk, on Tuesday forwarded a letter to the head of the Serb Orthodox Church, Patriarch Paul. A copy of the letter was forwarded to Hina today. Council members were stricken by the suffering of people in some parts of Croatia and Bosnia, where "arms were not silent but were again sowing destruction and death." "We know that suffering is present even in places like Banja Luka, where there is no fighting, but people die at the hands of individuals or armed groups who go unpunished," Vlk said. He appealed on Patriarch Paul to protect the "life and personal safety of Bishop Franjo Komarica, his priests, nuns and a handful of Catholic believers who have remained in the Banja Luka diocese." (hina) mm as 181139 MET may 95