The 81st regular session of the Bishop’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held on July 13th and 14th in the premises of the Episcopal Ordinariate in Banja Luka.
The bishops talked about charitable activities, spiritual vocations and the situation in the family and gave their incentives for survival in this area.
Under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, cardinal Vinko Puljić, President of the BK BiH, other members of the BK BiH participated, as well as Msgr. Željko Majić, the delegate of the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and the Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan, Msgr. Petar Palić, who is absent due to health reasons, and the apostolic visitor for the parish of Međugorje, Msgr. Henryk Hoser.
Delegates of the Croatian and Slovenian Bishops’ Conference Msgr. Milan Stipić, the Bishop of Križevci, and Msgr. Franc Šuštar, Auxiliary Bishop of Ljubljana, conveyed to the pastors of the diocesan communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina the expressions of closeness and briefly introduced them to the most important church events in recent times in their countries. The first part of the session was attended by the advisor of the Apostolic Nunciature in BiH, Msgr. Amaury Medina Blanco.
The bishops accepted the proposal of a new convocation of the Pedagogical Council of Catholic Schools for Europe, whose five-year term will begin in September 2021. They also gave the necessary guidelines for harmonizing certain acts regulating the work of Catholic education in BiH.
They also accepted the Report of the Supervisory Board of Caritas BiH on the activities of this institution in 2020.
Among other things, they are aware of the fact that there is less and less interest from foreign partners and donors in financing charitable activities in BiH.
During the fruitful discussion, they talked about the specific difficulties that the diocesan and Caritas BiH face in their work, whose activities in the social field were often not sufficiently valued or supported by the government institutions. Therefore, the bishops gave guidelines for the best possible coordination of the activities of these charitable institutions and thanked all charity staff, especially volunteers.
Spiritual vocations and family
After hearing a presentation on the topic of apostolate of spiritual vocations, the participants of the session first referred to the work of diocesan works for vocations. They thanked everyone who promotes or is actively involved in this way of advocating for the awakening of spiritual vocations.
The bishops encourage all family, parish, religious and all other communities to, in addition to the many present prayer initiatives in this field, earnestly ask the Lord of the harvest to send a worker into his harvest. They especially encourage young families not to be afraid to open their lives by giving birth to children who are the greatest blessing to both the Church and the people. They encourage everyone to be a true support to these families. They agree that the following are necessary for the pastoral care of vocations: thorough prayer, pastoral care of the family and joyful witness to the Gospel. They encourage all those who work on awakening and following spiritual vocations to even better cooperation between families, parishes and educational church institutions. They call all those who have responded to Christ’s call to live their priesthood and religious life holy and joyfully, and to be joyful preachers of the Gospel and witnesses of Jesus Christ in their lives.
Synod and invitation to Kupres
After getting acquainted with the preparation and holding of the First Synod of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese under the motto Renew Everything in Christ (Eph 1:10), the bishops considered the guidelines of the Secretariat of the Synod of Rome to achieve an open and sincere exchange between this central body and particular Churches around the world in synod procession. In accordance with these guidelines, on Sunday, October 17th, all diocesan communities in BiH will be involved in prayer preparation for the next Synod of Bishops to be held in October 2023 on the topic: For the Synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.
The bishops invite all members of their diocesan communities who are able to do so, especially those who are celebrating their 25th, 50th or 60th wedding anniversary, to come to the Church of the Holy Family in Kupres on Sunday, July 25th, and participate in the celebration of the 4th Family Day in BiH. They also invite all parish and other church communities to mark the 1st World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly on these Sundays using Dicastery materials for lay people, family and life.
The proposal of Caritas that the Bishops’ Conference of BiH be the sponsor of a one-day meeting of representatives of church institutions from BiH that work with children, youth and vulnerable groups was accepted.
Call for repossession
After being acquainted with the project started by the European Centre of the Banja Luka Diocese in the former Trappist monastery of Marija Zvijezda, the bishops once again call on the authorities to return the property confiscated after the Second World War, especially those illegally alienated to many in this country. They also call on the authorities to pass laws that will correct many injustices and will not create new ones that could be the cause of future misunderstandings and possible conflicts.
On July 13th, in the hall of the Episcopal Ordinariate, the bishops were present at the premiere of the documentary film of the Nazaret Association entitled Stradanje župe Barlovci u vremenu od 1992. do 1995. (The Suffering of the Barlovci Parish in the Period from 1992 to 1995).
They also, on July 14th in the Cathedral of St. Bonaventura in Banja Luka, listened to an organ concert performed by organist of the Zagreb Cathedral Neven Kraljić.
By the way, the Bishops’ Conference of BiH holds three regular sessions during the year: in March (Mostar), July (Banja Luka) and November (Sarajevo).
Why is the law on restitution “put in a drawer”?
At the end of the 81st regular session of the BK BiH on Wednesday, July 14th, a press conference was held at which the President of the BK BiH, cardinal Vinko Puljić, and the Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Franjo Komarica, spoke.
Bishop Franjo spoke about the pandemic, which he called a pandemic of “depression and disorientation”, especially among young people, which has resulted in emigration to other regions in search of a safer future, which impoverishes the living environment in BiH.
Asked to comment on the issue of restitution in BiH, cardinal Puljić said that the law on restitution had already been prepared, but that the High Representative in BiH, for reasons unknown to him, has “put it in a drawer” and that to date there has been no progress. He pointed out the fact that the state has been using confiscated property for many years, and noted that they encounter a number of obstacles when seeking restitution. In this context, bishop Franjo spoke about the alienated property in the area of the Trappist monastery of Marija Zvijezda and pointed out many irregularities and mistakes made by the authorities. Touching on the political context of life in BiH, the cardinal said: “It is understandable that this country can survive if the equality of all three constituent peoples and its minorities that exist in it is respected”, said cardinal Puljić, emphasizing that Europe itself cannot survive without respect for their diversity and equality.
KT
www.nedjelja.ba
Banja Luka – July 14, 2021
