Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim leaders call for peace from Sarajevo

(September 10, 2012) The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej and Catholic Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, on Sunday called for peace from a country that was the scene of the worst atrocities committed in Europe since World War II. "We have to carry in ourselves the seeds of peace and plant them wherever we are," Irinej said during a liturgy in the main Serb Orthodox church of Bosnia's capital Sarajevo. "The Church asked us to love every divine creature, since every human being is a divine icon. Respect of every human being is our task since he is the product of God's hands," said the patriarch who attended the 26th International Meeting for Peace, September 9-11, an annual gathering of leaders of religions organized by the Rome-based Catholic lay community of Sant'Egidio. It was Patriarch Irinej’s first trip to the Bosnian capital since he became Serb Orthodox Church leader in October 2010. "I'm delighted to be able to attend this prayer for peace, that a human being becomes even more human, that our society becomes more moral and I thank you for this unity," Cardinal Puljic said. "In Bosnia, everyone prays according to one's own laws. This city and this country deserve such a privilege," he added. On Saturday, Patriarch Irinej and several Serb Orthodox Church officials attended a mass said by Cardinal Puljic in Sarajevo cathedral.
Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, which saw the country’s three main ethnic groups — Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslims — fight each other, left some 100,000 people dead. Relations between the three main communities remain deeply damaged 17 years on. Muslims make up around 40 percent of Bosnia’s population of some 3.8 million. Serbs and Croats account for 31 and 10 percent of the population respectively.