JOHN PAUL II REFLECTS ON TRIP TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

VATICAN CITY, JUN 25, 2003 (VIS) - At the end of the catechesis of today's general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul briefly reflected on his one-day trip last Sunday to Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he beatified a native layman, Ivan Merz.

"Divine Providence," said the Pope, "allowed me to undertake a new apostolic trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina, six years after my pastoral trip to Sarajevo. It was a brief trip, but intense and filled with hope for that country which has been so tried by recent conflicts." He said he "sensed in everyone the will to overcome the painful experiences of the past in order to build, in truth and reciprocal pardon, a society worthy of man and acceptable to God."

The Holy Father remarked that "the high point of this pilgrimage was the solemn Eucharistic liturgy with the beatification of Ivan Merz, whom I proposed as a model for the Catholics, especially young people, of that land."

"I ask God," he said in closing, "to help the peoples of that land, supported by the international community, to be able to resolve the complex issues that are still open and to realize the legitimate aspiration to live in peace and to be part of a united Europe."

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