The religious truth

On the same day (January 5, 1992) on the same program (the "Serbian Hour") a missive was also read from His Holiness Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church. From the first sound the difference between Djujic's message and the Patriarch's is perceptible. Djujic's voice is loud and powerful, the Patriarch's voice is soft and dignified. His Holiness speaks slowly, allowing silence to form between his words and so give them an extra weight. In the background of His Holiness's word a quiet melody flickers. His Holiness speaks:

His Holiness wonders and asks why the world "does not see so many crimes which are occurring before our eyes. In fact, the world both sees and fails to see the crimes in Croatia. The world sees crimes but perhaps it does not look at them with the eyes of His Holiness. Therefore the Patriarch holds that the world does not see (and perhaps cannot see) the real, spiritual truth of the Serbian-Croatian conflict. Indeed, this truth is not seen even by some believers of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Or perhaps they have come to doubt that truth? His Holiness addresses them too, repeating the words of Jesus, spoken to his disciples on the lake in Galilee: "Why are you fainthearted, you with little faith?" (Mt 8,26) Little faith in our truth. The Patriarch says, "As once the apostles grew frightened of the storm in the lake in Galilee, so too among us many people are afraid of drowning in the stormy sea of our days."

In His Holiness's missive there is, however, one place which can hardly be reconciled with the spiritual call of a patriarch: the phrase about "world diplomacy." Jesus spoke about faith, but he never spoke about "world diplomacy." He said "Pay back Caesar's things to Caesar, but God's things to God" (Mt 22,21). Hence should not the speech of the Patriarch, Christ's and God's lieutenant, leave talk of "world diplomacy" to the lieutenants of Caesar?