Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin met in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, with whom he discussed, among other things, Kosovo.
Vucic, through a post on his Instagram account, said that during the conversation he underlined that “the issue of protecting, respecting and improving the rights of Serbs and other non-Albanian population” in Kosovo is of key importance for Serbia.
Another important issue, according to the Serbian leader, is “the protection and restoration of Serbian religious and cultural heritage, Orthodox cemeteries, as well as endangered cultural monuments, especially Orthodox churches and monasteries under the protection of UNESCO”.
Vucic said Serbia “highly appreciates” the Holy See’s position on Kosovo’s independence.
The Vatican is one of the European countries that does not recognize Kosovo’s statehood. The Vatican’s position is that the solution in relations between Belgrade and Pristina should be reached in the dialogue that the parties hold with the mediation of the European Union.
The topic of discussion, according to Vucic, was “the continuation of regular political dialogue at all levels, as well as cooperation between Serbia and the Catholic Church”.
” I stressed that the Republic of Serbia is determined to continue cultivating and improving constructive relations with the Holy See, since we share views on many international issues, especially on the protection of Christians and Christian heritage, as well as on improving the human rights of Christians, ” Vucic wrote.
Vatican secretary Parolin arrived in Serbia on Tuesday, September 17 for a visit to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Archdiocese of Belgrade.
On the agenda of Parolin’s visit is also a meeting with the Prime Minister of Serbia, Milos Vucevic.
In recent years, there have been several meetings between Serbian and Vatican officials.
The previous visit of a Vatican official to Serbia was made in 2021 by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary of the Holy See for relations with states.
A statement issued by Serbia’s presidency said the Vatican official had stated that the Western Balkans remained among the priorities of the Holy See.
According to the 2022 Census of Serbia, 86.6 percent of citizens declared themselves to be of Christian faith, of whom 3.9 percent registered as Catholics.Radio Free Europe/
