Bosnia-Herzegovina: the restitution of a seminaryIn the past days, the representative of the Orthodox Serbian Church in the Inter-religious Council of Bosnia-Herzegovna, bishop Vasilije from Zvornik-Tuzla, requested the restitution of the Orthodox seminary in Sarajevo that had been confiscated during Communist rule. Vasilije threatened to resign from the Council if the building – which is presently the seat of the faculty of Economic Sciences – is not vacated. “The building belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church which was granted a restitution ruling in 1991”, he added. If the government should not comply with the request, Vasilije warned that in his capacities as representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church, he will “freeze” his participation in the works of the Inter-religious Council of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the view of the Orthodox bishop, the institution operates in a “weak” manner. He underlined that the religious communities in the Srpska Republic, the Serbian area of Bosnia-Hezegovina, can address their religious questions to the institution while there is no similar institution present in the Bosnian-Croatian Federation. “We would like all religious communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina to enjoy equal rights”, he claimed, pointing out that “Serbia’s Orthodox Church doesn’t demand a privileged position. However, it doesn’t wish to be discriminated. This is valid not only for Sarajevo but also for Bosnia-Croatian Federation as a whole”. Serbia: the forest is returned to the Eparchy of Branicevo The new Serbian government kept the promise regarding the return of the Church properties confiscated by Tito’s Communist regime: some 2,700 hectares of forests, turned into State-ownership after the Second War, were recently returned to the convents of the Eparchy of Branicevo. This is one of the major restitution proceedings presently under way. The estimated property restitution amounts to further 4,000 hectares. As the manager of the public company “Srbijasume”, Vladan Zivadinovic reported to the Austrian Catholic News agency, over 30,000 hectares of land are Church property that has yet to be returned. By the end of the year the Eparchy will sign an agreement with the company regarding the forests’ management, Zivadinovic claimed. The bishop of Branicevo, Ignatije (Midic), expressed his appreciation over the agreement and added, “Serbia’s Orthodox Church demands the restitution not only of the forests but of other property too”. In Serbia, the restoration of Church property confiscated after the Second War, is regulated by a specific denationalization law. To date, 75,000 restoration proceedings have been filed. Vladimir Todorovic, responsible for the institution, reckons that some 500,000 people in Serbia will ask for the restitution of property and of confiscated land. Slovakia: the contended castle In Slovakia’s Republic a controversial debate opposes the high representatives of Slovakia’s Republic – President, government and parliament – and the Hungarian Benedictine monks. According to Slovakia’s private television network “Ta3”, the bone of contention is the use of the Lonyay Castle located in the Southern area of Bratislava. Indeed, the castle is planned to be used to host important events and provide lodging to visiting authorities. This decision however, is firmly opposed by the owners of the castle, the Benedictine monks of the Hungarian congregation. The monks have not taken possession of the castle since 1947, when the area in question was allotted to Cekoslovakia. The castle was eventually confiscated by the State. Since Slovakia’s independence in 1993, the Hungarian Benedectins have been trying to stick up for their rights. However, even the latest seventh series of negotiations which ended past February, were to no avail. Furthermore, the accountant of the monks in Slovakia’s republic Juraj Szalay, recently told Kathpress that the Order is willing “to grant the Republic’s authorities the possibility of using the castle’s premises 300 days a year”. Also Bratislava’s spokesperson Josef Halko, claimed that the archdiocese “considers it Church property”, notwithstanding the availability “of negotiating modalities for its use by state establishment”. The Hungarian Benedectin monks are determined to file the case to an international court if the castle’s restitution request should not be met.
