Victory has been claimed by the party of President Ibrahim Rugova, the “Democratic League” (just over 45% of the votes), in favour of the independence of Kosovo, which has a large Albanian majority. But the victory was only achieved at the heavy price of the almost complete abstention of the Serb minority, which is keeping the international community on the alert and making any rapid separation of the province from Belgrade ever more unlikely. Such, in brief, is the situation that emerged from last Sunday’s elections in the little Balkan country. In such a situation, the role of the Catholic Church within the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro remains more “vital” than ever. Archbishop Stanislav Hocevar of Belgrade has expressed himself in favour of the proposal of a visit by the Pope to Belgrade, ventilated in recent days by the President of the Federation Svetozar Marovich. The positions of the Serb Orthodox Church on the matter are well known, but emphasizes the archbishop “the presence of John Paul II in the country could represent a great opportunity not only to promote ecumenical dialogue, but also to contribute to the Federation’s rapprochement with Europe, once it has freed itself of the burden of the past”. President Marovich had spoken encouragingly about a possible visit by John Paul II with a view to supporting the slow and arduous progress to full democracy. “The presence of the Pope says Archbishop Hocevar could favour a significant step forward in this direction”.
