Building trust” “

A Bosnian priest, who is also a weight-lifting champion – probably unique in the world – and his strenuous efforts to foster peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians in his land: that’s the original story of Father ANTO LEDIC , parish priest of two tiny communities lost in the mountains near Cogniz, halfway between Sarajevo and Mostar. His life has now been turned into a documentary film called “Don”, recently screened in Italy. In the area where his two parishes are located – once a theatre of violent clashes between Muslims and Catholics – some 12,500 Christians were living before the war: now their number has shrunk to 2,000. The parish of Solakova Kula had over 1500 faithful, now only 50 are left: the old and disabled. The other parish had 1500 faithful, now they are only 70: the old and disabled. In recent days the presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of South-East Europe, meeting in Sarajevo, also denounced the situation of Bosnia-Herzegovina: “a State that was established by the Dayton accords, but that does not have a future, so long as a situation of ‘unjust peace’ persists and equal rights are denied to all three ethnic groups that make up the country (Bosnians, Serbs and Croats)” (cf. SIR 17/2005 ). We interviewed Father Anto. Seven years after the war, what’s life like in Bosnia and Herzegovina? “Undoubtedly there’s still a lot to be done. But the most important thing, in the long term, is to create trust between the peoples. And at this level the situation is not yet good. Creating trust is more difficult that building a house. You need lots of patience. You can only make progress slowly, step by step. Unfortunately the wounds left by the war are still deep, but that doesn’t mean we should just sit back and do nothing. The commitment of everyone is needed. In this land we must learn to live together and respect each other in all our diversity”. Are there any positive examples of peaceful co-existence? “Yes there are. It’s natural, for example, that neighbours should respect each other’s celebrations, that they should exchange greetings and good wishes. These are our first steps. Our multiethnic Catholic schools, which accept children of all religions and all ethnic groups, are also a great hope and an inspiring laboratory of how children of different backgrounds can live amicably together. These children, when they grow up, will help promote respect for diversity in Bosnia and in the rest of Europe”. Does not Bosnia feel a bit forgotten by Europe? “Europe does not do much to make us feel Europeans. We have so many problems, for example, difficulties to be able to travel abroad. So many documents are needed, it’s as if we were second-class citizens. So long as Europe tolerates two states on the territory of Bosnia Herzegovina it will be difficult to overcome this situation”. What are the problems faced by the Catholic community? “It is difficult to assert the rights of the Catholic community in the face of two other strong nations. Our bishops are making great efforts. They are campaigning to ensure that Catholics be treated like others, despite the fact that we are now a minority. We will do all in our power to assert the right of our people to live in their homeland”. And, besides, many difficulties are hampering the return of refugees… “Yes, many refugees live in other European countries or in other areas of Bosnia. The difficulties are due to the absence of a positive attitude by the political authorities to the return of refugees, a poor economic situation, and the lack of security. The houses from which refugees fled are still completely destroyed and people receive no aid or support for their reconstruction”. Is aid from NGOs and governments no longer available? “Unfortunately no, because the emergencies today are Iraq and the countries struck by the tsunami. Bosnia has been forgotten. Thanks to a twinning with a small Italian town, however, we have been able to help many elderly and disabled persons, reconstruct homes, provide bursaries to a small group of students, and support the few families that have remained”. What effect does it have to see your own life as a priest told in a film? “I’m very happy about it. The director succeeded in transmitting the message in which I believe: living together with others, not side by side with others. First and foremost I seek peace inside myself and then seek it in my relations with others. I try to be able to forgive. I meet people in a spontaneous manner. I don’t care what religion they have. I only see the person”. How do you reconcile weight-lifting with priesthood? “I try to unite my spirit with God and to give as much strength as possible to my body. I believe I am the first ever priest in the world to have practised a sport of this kind. I have won the first prize at the national level from 2002 to the present day. The next competition will be in Sarajevo in May”.