Vatican and Montenegro establish diplomatic ties

(Dec. 16, 2006) The Vatican on Saturday established diplomatic ties with the Republic of Montenegro, which became independent from Serbia in June this year following a referendum. Montenegro's Christian roots date back to the first century. The tiny Balkan nation had remained united to larger Serbia in the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in bloody warfare in the early 1990s. The Vatican said that there are some 21,500 Catholics in Montenegro in two dioceses, with about half of them of Albanian origin and the others of Croatian origin, in two dioceses. Montenegro aspires to eventually join the European Union.