Church in the World

Bosnian Serbs make overtures to Church

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The government of Bosnia's Republika Srpska has agreed to return hundreds of valuable works of art to a Catholic monastery 15 years after they were plundered by Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-95 war, writes Jonathan Luxmoore.

The Bosnian Serb Education Minister, Anton Kasipovic, said that the 365 paintings and sculptures had been stored in local archives after being seized in October 1992 and would be restored as a sign of good will to the Franciscan monastery at Plehan in northern Bosnia. The works formed the most valuable part of a collection of 800 pieces mostly by Bosnian and Croatian artists, which were originally housed in the monastery gallery.

Catholics comprised 19 per cent of Bosnia's population of 4.3 million before the 1992-95 war, while 44 per cent were Muslim and 35 per cent Serbian Orthodox. During an ad limina Rome visit a year ago by the country's bishops, the Pope acknowledged "numerous difficulties" facing the local Church and said he hoped agreements would be reached to ensure rights for refugees and other citizens. However, Bosnia's four Catholic dioceses have fewer than half of the 820,000 inhabitants they possessed before three-year conflict.