Pope’s grave mistake

AS a Serbian-American who lost some 100 relatives during the genocide of Serbian Orthodox Christians in the “independent” state of Croatia during WWII, I write to protest the visit of Pope Benedict to the tomb of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac.

I also must ask when the Vatican and the Croatian Catholic Church will acknowledge and apologise for their roles in the mass murder and ethnic cleansing of millions of Serbs, Jews, and gypsies. Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, as leader of the Croatian Catholic Church, if nothing else, did not openly condemn this genocide, but silently condoned it. Pope Benedict should not have visited his grave as this will forever drive a wedge between Orthodox Christians and Catholics.

Dr Michael Pravica