t eanc 0 VOL. 37, NO.2.
Friday, January 15, 19?3
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Vatiean toughens stance on Balkans 0
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - As the War in the BalkanS'has system" atically devastated lives and property over the last 18 months, the Vatican's thinking has grown steadily tougher. To the surprise of many, top church officials in late 1992 began recommending limited military intervention as a way to stop the shelling and keep relief lines open in Bosnia-Herzegovina. At international forums, Vatican officials suggested putting teeth into an existing embargo against Yugoslavia and imposing a "no-fly zone" in the embattled region, where Serbian forces continued to attack civilian targets. The eventual goal, of course, was a return to peace. But the means employed would be soldiers armed to kill, and warplanes ready to shoot down intruders - a policing force presumably assembled by a U. N. or international coalition. In December, Pope John Paul II said protecting relief operations was obligatory when the survival of populations and entire ethnic
groups. are threatened. If this inV.Qly.es interference in the internal affairs ()f a country, he said, so be it. . Was this the same church that looked so skeptically upon Operation Desert Storm, the U.S.-led war effort to push Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in 1991? Was this the same pope who, two years ago, saidthat "peace obtaine'd by arms could only prepare new violence"? Italian political commentators - especially those who had supported Desert Storm - quickly claimed a convert. In their view, Pope John Paul had finally come to see the value of war. The same pope who proposed the "absolute illicitness of war" during the Gulf conflict has now Turn to Page 10
CONFIRMATIONS SEE PAGE 11 for the 1993 schedule of confirmations in diocesan parishes.
Pope warns Europe on edge of abyss
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ASS lSI, Italy (CNS) - Pope John Paul II, praying for peace in Assisi, warned Europe that its ethnic wars have pushed it to the edge of an abyss of destruction. The survival of European civilization may depend on ending the war in the Balkans, the pope said during the two-day interfaith meeting in the hometown of St. Francis. During a Jan. 9 meeting with Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, the pope said, "We are now being asked to contribute in a specific way with our prayers and the offering of our fast to the rebuilding of the continent of Europe and perhaps to its survival." "In the face of such a tragedy, we cannot remain indifferent; we cannot sleep," the pope said after listening to five people from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia recount experiences of war in their homelands. The interfaith meeting and a nighttime Christian prayer vigil later in the Basilica of St. Francis were followed by a candlelight
procession of young people winding through the frosty medieval hill. town to various churches, where they prayed throughout the night. The somber interfaith meeting took place in the Franciscan convent attached to the basilica where St. Francis is buried. The spiritual leader of Muslims in Sarajevo described BosniaHerzegovina as "a country bathed with the blood of innocent creatures of God." Jacub Selimoski said 200,000 Muslims had died in the fighting and more than 35,000 women, ages 7 to 80, had been raped. He said Bosnia is experiencing a "horrible apocalypse" at the hands of "the Serbian aggressors." Archbishop Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo said: "We thank the world for its humanitarian assistance, but from here we cry for justice. The politicians slow down the solution of the problem, always looking for new reasons to avoid an effective intervention." Turn to Page IO
AT ST. MARY'S Cathedral rites Jan. 9, Bishop Sean O'Malley ordains two young men to the transitional diaconate. At top, he ordains Andre Faria; center Charles Jodoin. At bottom he stands with Deacon Faria, left, and Deacon Jodoin, right, following the ceremony, at which he spoke in Portuguese and English, with Deacon Faria taking his vows in Portuguese. In his comments, the bishop explained the historical background of the diaconate. (Kearns photos)
Tonight! The Bishop's Ball
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