AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

VATICAN CITY, APR 27, 2006 (VIS) - On Wednesday, April 19, the first anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, a Basic Agreement between the Holy See and Bosnia-Herzegovina was signed at the presidential palace in Sarajevo. The agreement confirmed a number of principles and defined certain issues regarding questions of common interest.

  The Holy See was represented by Archbishop Alessandro D'Errico, apostolic nuncio to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Bosnia-Herzegovina by Ivo Miro Jovic, Croatian member of the country's collegial presidency.

  According to a communique made public today, the Agreement, "bearing in mind the respective independence and autonomy of State and Church and their willingness to collaborate with each other, establishes the juridical framework for their reciprocal relations. In particular, it regulates the juridical position of the Catholic Church in civil society; her freedom and independence in her apostolic activities and in the regulation of her own affairs; and her freedom of worship and of action in the fields of culture, education, pastoral care, charity and the mass media. The text also makes provision for the running of Catholic schools of all levels; spiritual assistance to the armed forces, and in prisons and hospitals; and the organization of Catholic healthcare and charity structures''.

  The Agreement, the communique concludes, ''will come into force following the exchange of the instruments of ratification."
OP/TREATY HOLY SEE:BOSNIA/D'ERRICO                VIS 20060427 (230)