Serbia calls Vatican to prevent seizure of holy Serb places in Kosovo

Minister of Culture and Information Vladan Vukosavljevic presented a letter today to the pope's nuncio in Belgrade, addressed to the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, regarding the recent incident in Kosovo and Metohija caused by Albanian bishops, who served mass on the remains of the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Novo Brdo.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Information, Vukosavljevic called on Cardinal Ravasi to take the initiative and steps so that "the Albanian Catholic clergy in the territory of the self-proclaimed state of Kosovo would not unnecessarily provoke tension and desecrate religious and cultural-historical monuments of the Serb people."

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Photo: Tanjug/Dragan Kujundzic

Stating that Serbia and the Vatican are fostering "markedly good cooperation," the minister reminded the cardinal that in the 14th and 15th centuries, there was a Catholic church for western believers, whose remains are still present at the excavation site in Novo Brdo, and added that Albanian believers could repair the church and use it as desired.

"The rich tradition of Christian culture in the Balkans and in Serbia can and should enable Catholic and Orthodox believers to perform their rituals with dignity in sacred objects that are an expression of their faith and cultural heritage," the minister said in the letter.

(Telegraf.rs/Beta)