Nemet: Statement on Irinej's visit to Vatican misinterpreted

BELGRADE - The Vatican has sent no invitation to Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church to visit Pope Francis, says Ladislav Nemet, the Roman Catholic bishop of Zrenjanin, adding that outtakes from his interview to the Novi Sad-based Dnevnik daily have been misinterpreted.

In a statement published in Thursday's issue of Politika, Nemet said that his statement has been "misinterpreted", which lead to media reports of him saying that, during a meeting with the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Serbian patriarch has been handed an invitation to visit the Holy See, which he allegedly accepted.

"After Archbishop Mamberti's visit, Politika published my article on the matter, while last week I also spoke to Novi Sad-based Dnevnik about the subject. Both articles indicate that there is good will for a meeting to take place between the Patriarch and the Pope. However, neither of the articles say that a formal invitation has been handed, but that work on this is under way," Nemet explained.

Bishop Irinej of Backa, spokesperson of the Serbian Orthodox Church, denied on Wednesday that Patriarch Irinej accepted an invitation to visit the Vatican, claiming that Nemet fabricated the whole story.