c. 1997 Religion News Service

SARAJEVO _ Pope John Paul II’s visit to Bosnia this weekend (April 12-13) is being universally praised by Bosnian religious leaders and ordinary citizens for his impassioned promotion of ecumenical and political unity.”The situation has been very difficult since the end of the war,”said Marian Brkic, spokesman for the Bosnian Catholic Bishops Conference.”The healing and forgiveness which was supposed to have taken place hasn’t happened.”The pope’s goodwill visit has been seen by Bosnians as a powerful first step in rebuilding relations among the different communities,”he added.

But to what extent John Paul’s in-and-out, 25-hour visit will contribute to lasting peace remains uncertain. The tenuousness of that offering to the peace process was dramatically demonstrated by the discovery Saturday morning of 23 landmines under a bridge the pope was to use.

Poisonous hatreds remain from the war that was spawned by the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. In one tell-tale sign, the Serbian representative of the three-man Bosnian presidency did not join his Muslim and Croat colleagues at the airport in greeting the pope on his arrival Saturday.

And security remained tight throughout the visit, strongly suggesting that despite all the talk of peace and the absence of armed conflict, peace remains an elusive vision rather than a reality. Tanks, sharpshooters and thousands of police were deployed to protect the pontiff while NATO helicopters kept watch from the sky. Italian and Egyptian soldiers from the U.N. peacekeeping force patrolled the pope’s route and kept a wary eye on busloads of pilgrims.

Still, the threat did not dampen the celebratory atmosphere of John Paul’s visit to the still-scarred, war-weary Bosnian capital. It only served to underscore his urgent plea that Bosnians forgive one another and transform the nation into a model of religious coexistence.”For the edifice of peace to be solid, against the background of so much blood and hatred, it will have to be built on the courage of forgiveness,”John Paul told the nation’s political leaders.”People must know how to ask forgiveness and to forgive.” The pope’s message was welcomed in Sarajevo’s streets, even as people acknowledged the persistent force of extremism in the nation’s politics.”Some extremists from the Serb and Muslim sides were obviously hostile to him (the pope),”said Sanela Spihe, a 25-year-old Muslim economics teacher who clapped as the”popemobile”wove its way through the streets amid waving yellow and white Vatican flags and the national flag of Bosnia’s neighbor, the predominantly Roman Catholic Croatia.

The few Bosnian flags seen along the pope’s route was yet another sign that the road to a peaceful, multiethnic Bosnia _ a predominantly Muslim country _ is still a rocky one.”But most people were very grateful that he came to talk about peace,”Spihe said.”Our politicians and the international community can’t seem to find a solution to our problems. Someone like the pope with his international reputation and moral authority carries a lot of weight.” During his 25-hour visit, the pope met with the country’s three presidents _ representing Bosnian (Muslim), Croat (Catholic) and Serb (Orthodox) populations _ as well as leaders from all religious communities.

A crowd of 40,000 Bosnians from all faiths turned out for Mass at Kosovo Stadium, built for the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic games and later used during the war as the city’s morgue.

“Let the things which unite Catholics, Muslims and members of the Orthodox Church become the basis for mutual understanding,” the pope told the crowd. “God wants peace from all human beings, but respects the observance and rituals within different cultures.”

Mufti Mustafa Ceric, the leader of Bosnia’s Muslim community, said Catholics should be “proud of their pope,”adding he welcomed the pope’s call for greater dialogue and cooperation.

Metropolitan Nicholas of Bosnia’s Serbian Orthodox Church also described the short Sunday afternoon meeting with the pontiff as “positive” and “helpful for greater peace in the region.”

Brkic, the spokesman for the Bosnian bishops, said while many religious leaders have occasionally met on an individual basis since the end of the war, the Bosnian Catholic Church hoped John Paul’s successful visit would translate into more formal contacts and possibly even the creation of joint humanitarian projects.

The pope’s visit came at a time of increasing tensions between the Bosnian Serb, Muslim and Croat communities. Almost 18 months after the signing of the Dayton Accords, many Bosnians now view the settlement _ brokered by the Clinton administration _ as a failure because of its inability to secure the return of many Muslim refugees to their former homes in Bosnian Serb and Croat enclaves.

Freedom of movement between the three territories is also restricted with many Muslims fearful of crossing into Serb or Croat territory in Bosnia. A single currency for all three enclaves does not yet exist and the ruling government has been paralyzed by internal fighting over such petty issues as where to hold parliamentary news briefings.

Only 18,000 Croat Catholics and 7,000 Serb Orthodox still live in Sarajevo, which once had at least three times more citizens of both these religious groups. Moreover, one-third of Sarajevo’s 300,000 citizens are Muslim refugees who still hope to return to their former homes.

“The Bosnian state is regarded by many individuals on all sides as not being viable,”said Azim Begic, a Muslim theology student at the University of Sarajevo.”The idea of having a multiethnic and multireligious society is regarded as an illusion.””Somehow Bosnians feel betrayed,”he said.”The West has all the resources to help, but does not really seem committed to do anything serious like apprehend war criminals who are still in positions of power in the small villages.”

Others, however, were more optimistic.”The pope made extremely valuable statements in clear support of the integrity of the Bosnian state and its multireligious society,” said Saba Risaluddin, project director for Bosnia’s World Conference on Religion and Peace.

“The mixed turnout at the stadium and the number of people who attended Mass speak as a genuine sign on the part of the society that they want to live together.”

MJP END MODRO