Pope begs forgiveness for Church’s role in Bosnia bloodshed
Enfeebled by Parkinson's disease and hip and knee ailments, the 83-year-old pope urged Bosnia's Muslims, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs to put their differences behind them and forge a lasting multiethnic society.
Under heavy security, John Paul celebrated Mass for 45,000 pilgrims at the monastery of Petricevac, which was destroyed by Serb saboteurs in 1995 near the end of a devastating three-and-half-year war. The conflict killed 250,000 people and made refugees of 1.8 million others.