“Even though the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro remains one of the few countries that John Paul II has never visited, his presence is deeply felt”: so says the archbishop of Belgrade, Msgr. Stanislav Hocevar. “For civil society continues the archbishop the teaching of John Paul II and his commitment to peace are of great help. For the democratic forces, in particular, the teaching of the social doctrine of the Church and the Pope’s encouragement of the real involvement of Christians in society are a valuable support. For Catholics and for other Christians the Pope remains a constant point of reference, centre of unity for the Catholic Church, but also an open-minded person who facilitates contacts with other religious groups. The Orthodox bishop Irinej of Novi Sad has described the way in which John Paul II serves as ‘humble, clear and steadfast’. This also makes him acceptable to others and a real appeal to Christian unity”.
