May memory live

The corpses found in hidden cemeteries dating back to World War II and to the post-war period have a right to burial and funeral service. The request was made by the Commissions for Justice and Peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia in a joint communiqué issued May 13th and signed rby Msgr. Vlado Košiæ (Croatia), Msgr. Anton Stres (Slovenia) and Msgr. Pero Sudar (Bosnia-Herzegovina). Follow significant excerpts. Mourning the victims. “The extension of war crimes and of the crimes against humanity perpetrated during that period, pointing to the cruelty of the regime are testified by the large number of hidden cemeteries. These still bear no specific description. They are located in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. These cemeteries constitute evidence of the most hideous of all crimes: systematic mass-executions. During the past 17 years approximately 1,300 of these cemeteries were uncovered and registered. Most of them are located in Croatia, (over 700) and in Slovenia (over 500). It is necessary to identify all hidden cemeteries, mark them with the appropriate memorials and hold funeral rites of all faiths and piety services for the victims. According to the Commissions, are regards to the more distant and inaccessible sites, the mortal remains of the victims should be buried in a dignified manner and where possible they should be identified at the State’s expense. This should be done in order to enable families to mourn the loss of their dear ones. Until now, the relatives ignored the places and dates of their execution, they ignored there was a silence conspiracy regarding the crimes and the prohibition to utter the names of the victims”.Justice, silence and truth. “Each person, even after his death, has the right to human dignity. It is a basic ethical principle. For this reason, in order to put an end to the defamation and the silence regarding these unrecognized victims of the post- and pre-war period, and in order to raise public awareness and perform funeral rites, the Commissions exhort the institutions in the three Countries to conduct comprehensive and objective investigation on these war crimes and on the crimes against humanity in order to ascertain historical facts for a pedagogy of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Commissions maintain that institutions in the three Countries must undertake or continue investigation regarding the victims, so as to identify crime-related events and their ideological and material perpetrators”.Crime, punishment and memory. Until now…many facts and circumstances linked to mass crimes are unknown. In this framework, the Commissions highlight the importance of the rule of the Law in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia, along with the enforcement of national legislations, of the Resolutions of the Council of Europe and the UN conventions…at the same time…along with the punishment of criminals- still practiced in democratic Countries such as France, Germany, and the United States – it is necessary to create the preliminary conditions for the process of grief and the expression of compassion for the victims. It is equally important to ascertain historical events and create the nation’s collective memory. The path of reconciliation and forgiveness. “Starting from the Christian duty of forgiveness and the need for reconciliation, guided not only by the purification of memory and individual peace, but also by the prevention of hatred and revenge, along with the right to burial and funeral service, the Commissions urge the culprits who are still living, along with those who witnessed the crimes, to testify and supply information on the victims, places and dates, along with information on the individuals who commissioned and committed the crimes”. Against all forms of totalitarianism. “Our Commissions firmly condemn all three forms of totalitarianism and their related ideologies, their class, nation and race idolatry along with their crimes, as many good people – many Catholics, lay people, religious, priests, and bishops – did condemn during that tragic period. In particular, the archbishop of Zagreb, blessed Alojzije Stepinac, the bishop of Mostar, Alojzije Mišiæ and the general vicar of the diocese of Ljubljana, Anton Vovk. The Commissions underline that the purification of memory is a Christian duty. They condemn with equal firmness the crimes perpetrated by Catholics who, in opposition to Christian values and principles, promoted, commanded or committed crimes against other people’s lives, freedom and dignity – in war, in concentration camps, in the places of execution and in other places of suffering for innocent people”.