Zagreb, (IKA) – On the Friday before the Orthodox Easter, April 21, the Zagreb daily newspaper Vjesnik published an interview with Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan Jovan Pavlović on the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia, problems regarding persons changing from the Orthodox to the Catholic faith, ecumenical relations in Croatia and the relations between the Holy See and the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In response to a question about the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia regarding the return of refugees and the restoration of church objects, Metropolitan Pavlović said that the restoration of churches has made some progress but there are still many difficulties because the Ministry of Culture does not have the funds to finance everything that was contracted between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the state. To a great extent, they are financing the restorations themselves but there is little money. The metropolitan announced that in early June the Serbian Orthodox Church Museum will open in Zagreb, where it will be possible to see the treasures of the Serbian Orthodox Church, icons, books, archives and everything that belongs to that cultural fund.

When asked whether he was satisfied with the tempo of the return of citizens of Serbian nationality to their homes and their inclusion in the Croatian society, he responded that people mainly come for documents, acquire the right to citizenship and return to where they came from. Some are able to regain their property and restore buildings but they have difficulty finding employment and do not have income to support themselves. The situation is similar with refugee Croats and Bosnians. The state will have to do something because it is untenable for such a situation to have lasted so long, he commented.

In response to a question whether he sees any proselytizing of the faithful of the Serbian Orthodox Church by the Catholic Church in Croatia, he said that perhaps old habits still exist in individual cases. Perhaps individuals consider it a great success when someone from another religious community comes over to the Catholic Church. As a whole, there is fairly correct work on ecumenical cooperation and in the majority of cases there is proper understanding and respect, but it can be expected that extreme cases still exist, he said.

Commenting upon relations with the representatives of the Catholic Church in Croatia, he said that they meet on various occasions and the relations are friendly and correct, especially with Cardinal Josip Bozanić, who makes an exceptional impression as a good person and an excellent leader of the Catholic Church in Croatia. He mentioned that other young bishops are also good. “Bozanić is a person who has breadth and therefore Croats should pray to God that the Vatican does not call him to a higher function. He enjoys a very high reputation among the bishops with whom I have spoken in Italy,” said Metropolitan Pavlović.

When asked if a meeting between the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Pope Benedict XVI could be anticipated in the near future, he responded that it is regular procedure for the Catholic Church in Serbia to send an invitation to the Pope inviting him to visit, and then the state structures have to approve the invitation and participate in the Pope’s state visit. It is also necessary for the majority church, in this case the Serbian Orthodox Church, to grant approval. However, as far as the metropolitan knows, the Catholic Church in Serbia has still not sent an invitation for the Pope to visit. However, he said, on the theological level there are regular contacts with the Vatican.