c. 1998 Religion News Service

SPLIT, Croatia _ Pope John Paul II called on the international community Sunday (Oct. 4) to provide”timely help”to resolve the”continuing tragedy”in Kosovo.

The pontiff, speaking in a city swollen with refugees from the ethnic and religious bloodletting that followed the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in 1991 also urged the speedy and peaceful return of those displaced by the war.

On a balmy final day of his three-day visit to Croatia, the pope presided over an open-air Mass in this historic city on the Adriatic coast. Hundreds of thousands of worshippers came from Croatia and nearby Bosnia.

In his homily, the pope voiced”anxious concern for the continuing tragedy taking place in the nearby region of Kosovo.”May the international community, with a great sense of solidarity, not fail to provide timely help,”he said.

He did not, however, suggest any specific measures.

The pontiff’s words came as a new sense of urgency gripped both Kosovo _ the renegade province of Serb-dominated Yugoslavia _ and international diplomats. Kosovo has been the scene of a bloody crackdown by Serbian authorities seeking to end efforts by ethnic Albanians rebels, most of whom are Muslim, to win independnece for the Albanian majority.

Reports last week of civilian massacres, allegedly by Serbian fighters, have sparked new attention on Kosovo. Aid agencies have estimated the fighting over the past few months has created hundreds of thousands of refugees and killed at least 1,500 people.

The fighting has prompted NATO to warn that it could use air strikes against the Serbian forces if Serb President Slobadan Milosevic doesn’t call a halt to the Serb offensive.”May understanding, mutual respect, forgiveness and reconciliation at last take the place of violence and destruction,”the pope said in his appeal for peace in the troubled region.

During the morning harbor-side Mass, the pope also raised his concern about the many refugees who have not been able to return home since the 1991-95 Balkan conflict.”I am particularly close to those who still today are anxiously awaiting definite news of the fate of their dear ones who disappeared during the recent war. I am likewise close to those who were driven from their homes by the violence of the war and have still not been able to return.” While Split saw little direct fighting in the war that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the city still houses refugees from Croatia and Bosnia.

The 78-year pontiff, who will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his papacy in less than two weeks, looked weary as he greeted cheering crowds from his popemobile. His voice wavered sometimes as he chanted the liturgy, but he delivered his sermons firmly if slowly.

Some worshippers said the pope’s role in any peacemaking was important, but limited.”He can give advice, but we all can do more for peace,”said Ana Zamic, a shopkeeper from Mostar, a city that saw fierce Croat-Muslim fighting during the Bosnia war.”I think he can only give spiritual power,”added Saja Ostrojic, 23, a Bosnian studying in Split.

But high school student Vedrana Hinkovic said the most important message the pope could give young people here was that of peace.”He’s the good shepherd and he came here to spread peace,”Hinkovic said as she stood along Split’s main street to catch a glimpse of the pontiff as he drove by.

The pope congratulated Split as it celebrates its 1,700th anniversary. The city traces its roots to the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the last great persecutor of the early Christians, who built a retirement palace here and residents still live among ancient ruins that are among the most impressive in the former Roman world.

The pope later toured the city’s cathedral, which was created within Diocletian’s mausoleum. The city claims its cathedral is the oldest in all Catholicism.

Later in the day, the pope met with young people at a shrine to Mary on the island of Solin. They greeted him with guitar-led choruses of”Amazing Grace”in Croatian, folk dances in traditional costumes, and chants of”Long live the pope!””Jesus Christ never lets anyone down, and he is the best friend of the young,”the pontiff said.”Learn to find your proper place in the church and in society, by generously accepting the responsibilities entrusted to you now in the family and outside it.” Separately, the pope urged Croatian bishops, priests and teachers to help revive the nation’s religious beliefs after its 40 years of communist rule.

The entire city was transfixed by the papal visit. The televised proceedings emanated from homes throughout the medieval and modern sections of the city.

The service at Solin was the second held at a Marian shrine on the pope’s trip, which he said at the outset would focus on devotion to Mary. The pope did not, however, visit nearby Medjugorje in Bosnia. Reports of visions of the Virgin Mary there have drawn countless pilgrims but have never been validated by the Vatican.

DEA END SMITH