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by Dr. Franjo Komarica Original title: U OBRANI OBESPRAVLJENIH Documents selected by: Ivica
Bozinovic M.A. “The Lord is my strength and my song!” I still vividly remember how happy I was to hear that my school colleague and friend, Dr Franjo Komarica, had been nominated as the Assistant Bishop of the Banja Luka Diocese. At the time, I was acting as spiritual adviser to the Zadar seminary. I also remember his inauguration as the Residential Bishop in the St. Bonaventura Cathedral in Banja Luka. The cathedral was overflowing with faithful and I was honoured with the duty of Master of Ceremonies. The atmosphere was ceremonious. The retiring Bishop, Monsignor Alfred Pichler with dignity handed over the right to rule over the Church to his successor. Who would have thought then just what road of life our Lord intended for that young bishop, full of energy and vigour. He exuded fervour and optimism. It is not then coincidental that he chose the following exclamation from the Psalms as his Bishop’s motto, “The Lord is my strength and my song”. With his life and words he sang to the Lord wherever he went and the Lord had truly given him a magnificent voice. Immediately after taking over the administration of the diocese, he introduced numerous initiatives to revive the Church. The iron communist regime was already beginning to disintegrate and the Church was faced with new possibilities for its activities. He very quickly announced the convening of a Bishops’ Synod and he re-allocated duties, roles and mobilised all his forces. At one of a number of religious meetings in Banja Luka, preceding the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a high ranking political figure was seen to attend. Since he had been born in this region and was at the same time aware of future events and plans, he spoke to the Bishop with tears in his eyes saying: “My dear Bishop, your diocese has been written off”. The Bishop told me this at a later date and we both presumed that we were about to face dark days for the Church and the people in this region. We remained hopeful, however, that this fate would not befall us. Events, unfortunately, proved otherwise! Our people were expelled and tortured, our churches destroyed, people were stripped of their rights and humiliated - forgotten and deserted even by those whose duty it was to lead them and care for them. Bishop Franjo and his priests and nuns remained true to their devotion to peace founded on their faith and morals. The Bishop uncompromisingly followed the principle of the current pope: “The way of the Church is the way for man!”. He became the undaunted voice of the rightless. He was not broken by the injustice nor the threats to his life nor the tragic events experienced by the faithful entrusted to him or his priests and nuns. He raised his voice to the heavens and wrote to all sides searching for help and protection for all the rightless. He forwarded his correspondence to the Holy Father, to papal nunciatures, to Cardinal Kuharic in Zagreb and to me here in Sarajevo. He called on us to raise our voices so that the world’s superpowers would stop the injustice. He did not hesitate to write to politicians at all levels and on all sides within the country and abroad. He forwarded numerous denouncements to the mass media which in general were not broadcast. The media served the war machinery by fabricating various accusations in an effort to divert attention from those who were to blame for countless atrocities. He sent appeals to humanitarian organisations and the world’s superpowers, or at least to those who were willing to listen to his cries for help. Dear reader, you are holding a book in your hands which despite the pleas for justice, truth and the defence of the rightless given by this shepherd from Banja Luka also presents the joint appeals by all the Catholic bishops in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bishop Franjo always remained open to contact and co-operation and as such attempted to raise the voices of the leaders of other religious communities in an effort to defend mankind and its rights and dignity. It is not the usual practise to bring to light documents such as these at such an early stage. Documents of this nature are usually left to rest for at least fifty years and then brought to the public. This, however, is an attempt to unite some of what has been written or said by this herald of justice and peace from Banja Luka, in order that it be clearly presented to those who would not like to see the survival of the Catholic Church in these regions or who wish to prove that all are “equally to blame”. What is particularly evident is the search for those to blame among the religious communities as a justification for the negligence by the international community which did not wish or did not know how to effectively stop this war. These documents testify against all those who were responsible for so much injustice and suffering. Even more so, they testify to the faith and courage of a shepherd who tirelessly lived and stood up for the rights of the rightless. During his travels, Bishop Franjo often witnessed the suffering that was occurring in his diocese and he asked European and world powers, “Are we people to you?”. One particular diplomat sincerely answered him on one occasion saying, “For me you are, but for my government you are not!”. Not even this, however, discouraged him from continuing to awaken the conscience of those responsible in an effort to most effectively protect man and put a stop to the evil. At a time when most people abandoned him, forgot him or just did not understand him, Bishop Franjo knew that God was especially close to him and his faithful. Along with his priests he comforted himself and his people with God’s Word, he fed them with the Eucharist and encouraged them not to succumb under the burden of injustice. Their source of light in the darkness of hate and injustice was their faith strengthened by the Eucharist. They always managed to find new paths to deliver humanitarian aid giving it even to those who tormented them. Even during the most difficult times, Bishop Franjo remained deeply convinced that even the worst criminal could be converted. He often recalled a conversation with a Catholic woman who told him, “If we had prayed more for them, they would not be this evil”. Who could have imagined the cross that the new Ordinary was to take upon his shoulders when he stepped on the throne of the Banja Luka Church? He took that cross bravely leaning on Christ, “the shepherd and guardian of your souls” (1 Pet 2:25) and he became his “easy yoke and burden light”(Mt 11:30). Bishop Franjo was and remained with his whole being a living song of the Lord. In the darkness he always found the words which brought in the light. Respected reader! May his pastoral words, even though they are only partially to be found here, bring you the light of goodness so that the evil may never be repeated. May it be an inspiration to amend the injustice and to stop the destruction of our civilisation in this century which is drawing to a close. May it indeed be an impetus to enter the new century with the light of faith and hope which has burned and is burning in the hearts of our brave shepherds. Sarajevo, on the Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, 14 September 1996. Cardinal Vinko Puljic,
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