From the war to the truce” “

Truce, not peace. “Peace, but what peace? The truth is that we are in a state of truce”, says Father Kresimir Puljic, parish priest of Mostar, the second city of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The war ended nine years ago, but the signs of the conflict are still all too evident in the streets of this town. The Dayton accords of 1995 established the creation of a Serb Republic and of a Federation in which Croats and Muslims could live together in peace. Between 450,000 and 500,000 Catholics are currently living in Bosnia-Herzegovina (according to the figures provided by the local Episcopal Conference), equivalent to 10-12% of the total population. Before the war, in 1991, there were almost 761,000 Catholics, equivalent to 17.4% of the population. In the diocese of Mostar-Duvno there are now some 200,000 Catholics. In the course of the war 51 churches (of which 29 parish churches), 9 chapels, 33 rectories and other buildings owned by the Church, 5 monasteries and 8 cemeteries were either destroyed or seriously damaged. Since the end of the war, 17 churches (of which 11 parish churches), 5 chapels, 13 rectories and ecclesiastical buildings, and two monasteries have been rebuilt. No forgiveness without justice. Speaking from his parish of “St John Apostle and Evangelist” Father Kreso describes the situation of the diocese: “We cannot speak of forgiveness if there’s no justice and no defence of human rights. We ask to be respected, to be able to practice our religion and express our culture. Peace grows from justice”. The parish also extends to the eastern part of the city where mainly Muslims live; before the war there were 7,000 Catholics in that area, now there are only about fifty left. “During the war we were afraid of the bombs – explains Father Kreso – but we’ve learned to defend ourselves; but even now we don’t feel ourselves completely safe”. He relates a recent episode to bring home the point: “Just before Christmas, the crib set up before the ‘house of culture’ in the city centre was burnt by some Muslims. A few weeks earlier, 22,000 artillery shells were found in a factory in the Moslem area. Were they directed at us? “. To the destruction of the crib the parish priest responded with words of peace and in a letter to his parishioners wrote: “The Church of Mostar prays for the persons who committed this sad and despicable action. We must forgive those who do us evil”. Once the war had ended, 38 minarets were rebuilt in the Islamic part of Mostar. “Throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina there are some four hundred new mosques – explains Father Kreso – but here in Mostar we don’t even succeed in building one new church: we don’t have the funds. My parish has over 33,000 inhabitants and half are Catholics; the church was converted from a former warehouse. Apart from the Franciscans who have built a large church with a bell-tower over 100 metres high, just on the former front line, there are no new religious buildings here”. The appeal to the Churches. Caritas is directed by Father Ante Komadina, who was editor of the diocesan monthly for seventeen years. “The situation is difficult – he says – drugs and prostitution are rampant. All the projects we are running, from the home for handicapped children to that for maltreated women, from the nursery school to home care for the elderly, are financed by Caritas agencies abroad, but now we must try to manage them by our own efforts and with medium and long term interventions. We still have a need for the help of the European Churches”.