Archbishop Vukšić: Opening Address at the Beginning of the Session

93rd Regular Assembly of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Banja Luka, July 16, 2025

At the beginning of the 93rd regular plenary assembly of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I extend a warm and fraternal greeting to all my brother bishops, members of our Conference: the Vice President of the Conference, the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan, His Excellency Monsignor Petar Palić; the Apostolic Visitor for the parish of Medjugorje, His Excellency Monsignor Aldo Cavalli; and our host, the Bishop of Banja Luka, His Excellency Monsignor Željko Majić, to whom I already expressed sincere thanks, together with his collaborators, for all the services rendered and for their generous hospitality. Greetings also to Monsignor Franjo Komarica, retired Bishop of Banja Luka.

I also extend greetings and gratitude to the General Secretary, Rev. Fr. Bojan Ivešić, and his collaborators in the Secretariat, who once again have made all necessary preparations to ensure the smooth conduct of this assembly.

We are honoured by the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Monsignor Francis Chullikatt, to whom I also extend a heartfelt welcome. We kindly ask him to convey our greetings and prayers to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.

A warm fraternal welcome also goes to our esteemed guests representing their Episcopal Conferences. With us is the Bishop of Poreč and Pula, His Excellency Monsignor Ivan Štironja. We ask him to convey our heartfelt thanks to the Croatian Bishops' Conference and the general public in the Republic of Croatia for their continued support and solidarity with the Church and all people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We especially thank him in advance for the information he will share regarding translating the Roman Missal into the Croatian language. Also present is the representative of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference, His Excellency Monsignor Peter Štumpf, Bishop of Koper and Apostolic Administrator of Murska Sobota. We once again congratulate him on his recent appointment as Bishop of Koper and ask him to convey our gratitude to the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference for their solidarity from that part of the Body of Christ.

I.

At this assembly, our second in the Jubilee Year 2025 marking the birth of Jesus Christ, we will first reflect on the implementation of the conclusions from the previous, 92nd regular session of our Bishops' Conference. We will then hear the report of the Supervisory Board of Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina, the annual report from the President of Caritas, and a report on the distribution of funds collected during the 2024 Solidarity Week. We will also review the implementation of the pastoral year for deacons, and I again express sincere thanks to all who participated in this important process. Other topics include recent interactions with various Roman Dicasteries, the application of synodal guidelines, as well as the formation of acolytes, lectors, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion in our ecclesial communities.

II.

Since our last assembly and this one, which begins today, significant events have occurred in both the Universal Church and our local Churches. At the universal level, Pope Francis has passed away and Pope Leo XIV has been elected. At the local level, as part of the Jubilee celebrations, we carried out the consecration of all parish communities to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We also held the sixth gathering of priests who serve or originate from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tomislavgrad. In that same city, together with other Croatian bishops, we marked the 1100th anniversary of the Church councils in Split, held during the reign of Croatian King Tomislav, with a solemn Eucharistic Celebration.

In the coming period, alongside our regular pastoral ministry, several key events are scheduled to take place, and we invite participation from all who are able. At the end of July, the 8^th Family Day will be held, centred at the Parish of the Holy Family in Kupres. For those unable to attend, we ask that all parish communities dedicate that Sunday to prayer for families. On the last Sunday in September, we will celebrate the 59th World Day of Social Communications with a Eucharistic Celebration in Prnjavor, and prayers for this vital form of pastoral outreach will be held in all parish communities during the liturgies that day. At the beginning of October, prompted by both our Bishops’ Conference and the Croatian Bishops’ Conference, we will participate in a joint Jubilee pilgrimage of Croatian Catholics to Rome, where an audience with the Holy Father is also planned.

III.

At the end of October this year, we will mark the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra aetate, from the Second Vatican Council. This declaration has, over the decades, guided the Holy See and local Churches across the globe in fostering relations, promoting dialogue, and encouraging cooperation with followers of different religious traditions. Its message remains timely and deeply needed, especially in complex societies such as Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Rooted in Jesus’ commandment of love toward all people, the Declaration promotes dialogue not as a competitor to evangelization but as one of its expressions—a concrete form of Christ’s love. With sincere respect, the Church considers the ways of acting and living, the commandments and teachings of other religions, which, though often differing from what the Church holds and proclaims, nonetheless frequently reflect a ray of the Truth which enlightens all humanity. At the same time, the Church continues, and is bound, to proclaim Christ, "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (cf. John 14:6), in whom all find the fullness of religious life and in whom God has reconciled everything to Himself. That is why the Church exhorts her members to engage prudently and lovingly in dialogue and cooperation with followers of other religions, to bear witness to the Christian faith and way of life, and to acknowledge, preserve, and promote the spiritual and moral goods and the socio-cultural values found among them (cf. Nostra aetate, 2).

In times of global tragedy and suffering, it is worth reiterating that the Declaration strongly affirms the Christian principle of universal human brotherhood. This principle must be applied to all spheres of life. One cannot invoke God—the Father of all—while denying fraternal behaviour toward fellow human beings created in His image. Our relationship with God the Father is inseparably linked to our relationship with all people. Therefore, any theory or practice that introduces discrimination between individuals or peoples, based on human dignity or national identity and the rights derived from it, is fundamentally flawed. For building societal harmony and just peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina—a cause to which we are genuinely dedicated—the message of the Declaration is vitally important. This is especially important as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Agreement on an unjust peace for any person or nation, the gravest humiliation is the theft of dignity through the denial of human and religious rights, through, for example, unjust laws, conditionality, discrimination, the privatization of patriotism, dehumanization of others, manipulation of minority communities, or the imposition of their representatives. For any upright person, these issues are first and foremost moral, not political. That is why the Catholic Church consistently condemns any form of discrimination or abuse of people—whether on the grounds of race, colour, social status, or religion—as such actions are contrary to the spirit of Christ (cf. Nostra aetate, 5). For Catholic faithful, this is above all a question of moral integrity, of faithful adherence to the Gospel.

✠ Tomo Vukšić,
Archbishop and President of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina