Bosnian church official sees slight change in ethnic attitudes

Published: 2005-07-13

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A Bosnian church official said commemorations of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II, reflected a slight change in attitudes by ethnic groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "There's been a slow opening up -- a recognition that we should say we're sorry out loud for the terrible crimes that took place and mourn their innocent victims," said Msgr. Mato Zovkic, vicar general of the Sarajevo Archdiocese, who represented the Bosnian church and the Vatican at the July 11 Srebrenica ceremony. "But prophetic voices like this represent only a tiny minority. Unless they gain support, we won't have real reconciliation," he said. International leaders gathered at the eastern Bosnian town to commemorate the slaughter of 8,000 Muslim men and boys when the U.N. safe haven was handed over to Bosnian Serb forces by Dutch peacekeepers. Msgr. Zovkic told Catholic News Service he regretted that religious leaders had not been invited to speak.

Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .