AN IMPORTANT DAY IS BEHIND US
Following the departure of Pope John Paul II from Slovenia
Statement by the President of the Republic

Maribor, 19 September 1999



Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
allow me first to welcome all of you. I wish you an end to this day as beautiful as all of today has been. An important day is now behind us. How important depends on what it signifies to the Slovenian people and how they felt it in their hearts. It is certain that this is an important day not only for Catholics, for the people that came to the Betnava grove and the Betnava field today, but for Slovenia and the Slovenian nation as a whole. It is linked to the significance of the work of Bishop Anton Martin Slomsek as we see him today, a bishop who was beatified today. His work and its import by far exceed his pastoral, ecclesiastical activities, it also reaches into the spheres of culture and education, and, last but not least, he is important for raising national awareness in Stajerska, defining the frontiers of the Slovenian nation.

This was also an opportunity for me to hold a discussion with his Holiness. I thanked him for having performed this act in Maribor, for having beatified Bishop Slomsek who is an extremely positive personality in the minds of Slovenians. He is a personality whose message unites Slovenians, something which is of great importance for our lives at present and in the future. We are rarely able to reach such a high degree of unanimity. I hope that such high levels or at least nearly as high levels of unanimity will also be reached in selecting other people in Slovenia's Catholic life proposed for beatification, so that we will all understand that it is not an opportunity for new divisions. I also briefly spoke with his Holiness about the significance of reconciliation among Slovenes and the necessity for us to look toward the future in view of the situation Europe finds itself in today.

We also discussed the Balkans, this multicultural, multicivilisational, as well as multireligious area for which, as you all had the opportunity to hear, his Holiness said that it would have been useful if Slomsek's spirit had reached that far. He said: “Slomsek was a patriot, yet he did not hate or object to anyone of a different culture or of a different religion.” In view of the role played by religions in this sad Balkan conflict, these managed to keep themselves from being put in function of this policy of interethnic conflict and violence, despite such attempts being made. At the end I once again expressed my gratitude to his Holiness for this act and, of course, wished him good health, to lead the Roman Catholic Church into the third millennium. Thank you.

Question from a journalist of the Slovenian Press Agency:
Mister President, I would like to have your comment on the statement made by the Archbishop Dr. Rode in his editorial for the Osservatore Romano prior to the Pope's visit, specifically to where he mentions that there is an atmosphere of fear in Slovenia due to the past structures that remain in power.

Milan KUCAN:
You'd have to ask someone else, I don't feel an atmosphere of fear. I suppose there probably are people who feel such an atmosphere. You should ask them about the reasons for such feelings. I'm sure that the atmosphere in Slovenia is tolerant enough, democratic enough for anyone who believes his or her rights or status are being encroached on to be able to say this and call on those government institutions that are obliged to act to indeed intervene. This comprises the ombudsman, the judiciary, and finally also the institution of the President of the Republic and his office. Thank you.