122 Catholics Killed in Banja Luka, Far From the War

Cardinal Vinko Puljić, on behalf of the Bishops' Conference of BiH, sent a letter to Patriarch Irinej, following his speech on the occasion of the celebration of the Day of Republika Srpska on January 9th in Banja Luka. The Cardinal's letter to Irinej begins with a key quote from his speech in Banja Luka. 

“Today Republika Srpska, founded on God's truth, on God's justice, celebrates its birthday, a great day, not only for you, brothers and sisters, a great day for the entire Serbian people… And that is what guarantees its life, its future, and the future of its people… This Republic is founded on the blood of holy martyrs, on the bones of holy martyrs, and everything that is founded on justice, on truth, on blood for justice and for the name of God, is eternal and everlasting. The Lord supports it with His finger. And nothing in this world can resist what the Lord supports… Therefore, we pray to the Lord that the Lord blesses the people of Republika Srpska, that the Lord blesses the people of Serbia, the Serbian people, wherever they may be, because they are a holy people, a martyred people, a people who suffered for the name of Christ. And such a sacrifice can never lose its value and price, not only before God, but also before people. Therefore, we pray to the Lord that the Lord blesses Republika Srpska, the Republic of Saint Sava, the Republic of the Serbian people...” 

The Cardinal, among other things, writes to Irinej: “Allow me to remind you of the three-year siege of the capital of BiH, Sarajevo, by the former JNA and Serbian armed formations. I personally experienced all of this along with all the citizens who, without trial or guilt, were punished with daily shelling, sniper fire, injuries, thirst, hunger, and cold… According to church statistical data, around 140,000 Catholics were forcibly expelled from their homes from the area that today comprises the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity of Republika Srpska. For example, in the 15 parishes of the Derventa deanery, almost 50,000 Catholics lived before the war, the vast majority of whom were expelled during the war, leaving only about a thousand after the war…”

 “…In the area of the Banja Luka municipality, where there were no armed conflicts or war events and where Serbian representatives held absolute power, and Banja Luka is my hometown and the hometown of the Bishop of Banja Luka, Franjo Komarica, 122 Catholics were killed. In the area of the Prijedor municipality, 151 Catholics were killed, including the local parish priest, Rev. Tomislav Matanović, and his parents, then priests Ivan Grgić, parish priest in Rakovac near Ljubija… On the night between May 6th and 7th, 1995, in the Banja Luka settlement of Petrićevac, Republika Srpska police entered the Franciscan monastery and arrested all monks and nuns, and Republika Srpska soldiers mined and completely destroyed the newly built monastery and parish church of St. Anthony of Padua, and burned down the monastery, intentionally and completely destroying the parish and monastery archives. During the torture and burning of the monastery, the eighty-year-old friar Alojzije Atlija died… Msgr. Kazimir Višaticki, parish priest and dean in Bosanska Gradiška, was killed in his parish house on November 16th, 2004, after many years in exile.

To this should be added the killing of 97 imams and mualims during the aggression against BiH, of which in 11 cases, imams and their entire families were killed. It should also be stated that as many as 88 imams were imprisoned and tortured in camps. This definitively debunks Patriarch Irinej's narrative about Republika Srpska as being blessed by God.