Sarajevo, March 10, 2000 (IKA/KTA) — On March 8, members of the Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina received the founders of the Special Olympic Games at the Palace of the Archbishop in Sarajevo. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of the late U.S. President John F. Kednnedy, and her husband Sargent Shriver are the founders of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center that has operated since 1961 and is among the leading institutions in the U.S. dedicated to improving the lives of mentally retarded children. Eunice Kennedy Shriver is also the founder of the annual Special Olympic Games that make it possible for mentally retarded individuals from 130 countries to participate and compete in twenty-two athletic disciplines. The purpose of the visit by the Shrivers and their delegation was to become acquainted with the opportunities and educational quality for retarded individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in addition to the possibility of their participation in the Special Olympic Games. According to the vice president of the Bosnian Special Olympic Games, Marko Pejcinovic, in Bosnia and Herzegovina there are twelve clubs whose membership includes over 1,200 contestants. In a conversation with the delegation, the president of the Interreligious Council, Archbishop Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, emphasized that our attitude toward persons with disabilities is a test of our humanity. “We need a country that will not exclude or abandon even a single one of its members. We must not forget that in the eyes of God, all are equal,” said Cardinal Puljic to the founders of the Special Olympic Games.