Pope seeks forgiveness for Bosnian bloodshed

Pope John Paul II reached out to the embittered people of Bosnia-Herzegovina today, asking God’s forgiveness for “so much suffering and bloodshed” inflicted by Roman Catholics and others.

Enfeebled by Parkinson’s disease and hip and knee ailments, the 83-year-old Pontiff urged Bosnia’s rival Muslims, Roman Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs to search their hearts, put their differences behind them and forge a lasting multi-ethnic society.