Bishop Franjo Komarica of Banja Luka is hoping that the situation of Catholic Croats in Bosnia may now begin to improve after he succeeded last month in bringing together a number of important politicians of the so-called Republika Srpska together with representatives of other ethnic groups at a round table discussion intended to draw attention to the problem of returning refugees in Bosnia.
Speaking to the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Bishop, Komarica reported that the Federal Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina had since recently assured him that it was taking seriously the proposals of the Catholic Church and was willing to address the issues accordingly.
For several years now Bishop Komarica has been calling urgently for help and support for the Croatian war refugees who are seeking to return to their home towns and villages. Instead, the country has become "an old people’s home," he told ACN, adding that in all three dioceses of the country there were today only 11,600 Catholics remaining, whereas before the war there had been 220,000.
A full 13 years after the end of the war only a tiny proportion of the Catholic Croats have returned, and most of these, the bishop said, are elderly. Many have since died, so that today there are fewer Catholics in Bosnia than there were immediately after the war ended. Now, however, Bishop Komarica is hoping that "at last the Catholics will also get their fair share."
Previously, Bishop Komarica complained, there has been no discernible political will, either in the country itself or in the international community, to help the Catholic war refugees return to their homes. Only 2% of the total aid granted has come to the Croats, he maintained. "The refugees have no houses left, and if they do return, they often have to live without running water or electricity. They cannot find work and in society generally it is often made clear to them that they are unwelcome," he told ACN. He is hoping that the politicians responsible for their welfare will at last keep their promises.
The Catholic Church in Bosnia is working hard "to promote the welfare of all people in Bosnia" the bishop added, citing the "European Schools" run by the Church which welcome children of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds and thereby seek to promote reconciliation in the country. ACN has been supporting this peace initiative for many years now, and sees its support for the Catholic Church in Bosnia as a priority in its work for Eastern Europe.
The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, which followed the collapse of the former communist state of Yugoslavia, cost the lives of 243,000 people. A further 2 million were expelled from their homes, following the carving up of the republic into separate states.
