Roman Catholic Church provides assistance to the flood-affected population in Serbia

Minister of Justice Nikola Selaković met today with the president of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference, the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Ljubljana and Bishop of Novo Mesto Msgr. Andrej Glavan, to discuss the position of the Roman Catholic Church in Serbia, but also the assistance that the Roman Catholic Church had provided to Serbia after the catastrophic floods.

The meeting was also attended by the Archbishop of Belgrade Msgr. Stanislav Hočevar, the Chief Vicar of the Slovenian Military Chaplains Msgr. Dr. Jože Plut, the Secretary General of Caritas Slovenia Mr. Imre Jeremič, and the Ambassador of Slovenia to Serbia Mr. Franc But.

Minister Selaković pointed out that Slovenia was one of the first countries to come to Serbia’s aid during the floods, both by participating in rescue operations and by providing material assistance. He stressed that the cooperation between Slovenia and Serbia was extremely good and expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the friendship and commitment offered to the Serbian people in times of difficulty.

Monsignor Glavan said that the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia invited all the dioceses to collect aid for the flood-affected population in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that nearly EUR 240,000 were raised in late May and early June across all Slovenian dioceses. He added that in addition to the money raised, humanitarian assistance worth over EUR 500,000 was collected as well. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina received equal amounts of assistance, namely each country received half of the collected funds.

Speaking of the competences of the Ministry of Justice, Selaković said that the Directorate for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities, through which the state provides assistance to all the churches and religious communities in Serbia, was part of the Ministry.

During the meeting, the attendees also discussed the status of religious educational institutions in Serbia, the possibilities and manner of organisation of religious services within public institutions, as well as religious education in schools.

At the end of the meeting, the Archbishop of Belgrade pointed out that the Catholic Church would continue to provide assistance to the flood-affected population in Serbia and said that this assistance was especially important now when the citizens needed to regain what they had lost so that they could return to their normal life.