Serbian patriarch accepts invitation to visit Pope Francis

BELGRADE - Bishop of Zrenjanin Vladislav Nemet has confirmed to the daily Dnevnik from Novi Sad that Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarch Irinej has been invited to the Vatican to visit Pope Francis and that he and the SPC have accepted the invitation.

The SPC leaders have accepted the invitation despite refusing to invite the head of the Catholic Church to Serbia for decades, mostly under the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, even though some of the Catholic leaders, like Pope John Paul II expressed their desire to visit the Catholics in Serbia.

"All the present members of the Holy Synod and the envoys of the Holy See agreed that the visit should definitely happen. Diplomatic negotiations are now under way to determine how to organise the visit, which is not the simplest of things, considering the calendars of Pope Francis and Patriarch Irinej," Nemet stated.

Commenting on the fact that there is no consensus within the SPC Assembly regarding a potential visit by the Pope, which is supported openly by the Serbian government, present and former, Nemet said that Irinej's visit to the Vatican would be a huge step forward in every respect.

"It is time to be done with some topics for good... Such a meeting will definitely provide an opportunity to discuss painful topics, which refer to Serbia and Croatia more than to the Catholic Church, like Wolrd War Two and events that came later," Nemet explained.

Photo Tanjug/N. Jovanovic