Belgrade (Fides Service) - On 13 April there will be a first ever meeting of the Catholic Bishops of Serbia and Monte Negro with leading members of the Serb-Orthodox Church. The meeting was announced by the Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hocevar, when he visited the German offices of Aid to the Church in Need recently. The Archbishop said there are favourable prospects for ecumenical dialogue in Serbia. This historic event was helped considerable by visits last year to Serbia made by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, emeritus Archbishop of Milan and Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Unity among Christians, as well as a visit to the Vatican this year in February of a delegation of the Serb-Orthodox Church, events which all helped to build good relations.
Archbishop Hocevar said, with regard to the present situation in Serbia-Montenegro which recently took the name Serbia-Montenegro Union, that seven years after the tragic war a new mentality is being formed at last. A recent article published by a Serb weekly Nin, spoke of the "praiseworthy commitment of the Catholic Church to put en end to the Balkan conflict". "Reconciliation between Albanians in nearby Kosovo and the Serbs is the priority at the moment" Archbishop Hocevar underlined, adding that formation of the laity is another major commitment. The local Catholic Church is presently busy rebuilding churches damaged during the war. MS (Fides Service 4/3/2003 EM lines 21 Words: 246)