Serbia is one of the few European countries still not visited by the Pope. It’s not a big deal, if you ask me – what’s more important to me personally is that the Stones were here and now the AC/DC are coming. The thing is, I should not be so selfish and think only of my religious needs, there are many Pope fans here as well, and they would really like to see his gig in Belgrade. So what’s the problem, why won’t he come? It’s just the question of getting a work permit for Serbia, filling up the gas tank on the popemobile, stating nothing to declare but the Holy water on the border and voila, right?
It turns out that the Serbian Orthodox Church, even though unable to stop the Stones, the AC/DC and Madonna, has some deciding power over the Pope Benedict XVI penetrating our borders. The reason remains the same as it was fifteen years ago when, according to the NYT, not even Slobodan Milosevic had anything against the visit. It’s this:
The main reason for opposing the visit of the Pope is the supportive attitude the Vatican had toward the creation of the WW2 puppet Nazi Independent State of Croatia (NDH).
I suppose that the Serbian Orthodox Church expects an official apology from the Vatican first, even though I can’t find an official statement regarding this – what would it take for them to approve the Pope’s visit? Or should the Pope fans from Serbia get their tickets for Pope gigs in nearby countries again?
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The Catholic church helped Ustasha escape through the so-called Ratlines. As well, they loaned Croatia money for its war in the ’90s. The Catholic population in Serbia is small and “neighboring countries” are so close given how small many European countries, including Serbia, are. Many European countries are around the size of an average U.S. state.
Well said, Ida.
You won’t miss anything, believe me!
Heretics and the antiChrist are not welcome in Serbia.
google up avro manhattan & his ‘the vatican holocaust’ & tell me if you would want to see himin serbia if you were a serb