Vatican, Croats split over monastery

[Dale_M]

A dispute over ownership of a monastery in Croatia has led to unusual strains between the Vatican and Croatia, a staunchly Catholic bastion in the Balkans.

The Vatican expressed “astonishment” Thursday that Croatian authorities have refused to go along with a decision by Pope Benedict XVI that Croatia’s Catholic church return the monastery to a Benedictine community in Italy and pay euro6 million (nearly $9 million) in compensation.

The Vatican said the pope acted after futile efforts over 2 1/2 years by both sides to reach an agreement. Benedict took the unusual step of appointing a special representative to step in for the local bishop, who took over his powers for just a few minutes to sign the agreement.

news.yahoo.com/vatican-croats-split-over-monastery-133013026.html;_ylt=Au5PBEjJETLByEm_0Q9yQmo7Xs8F;_ylu=X3oDMTM1dGk5MWlmBHBrZwMyZTZjMzk0My1hZmIwLTM4N2YtOGM3Ni01YWFmZTJkOTlmMjUEcG9zAzgEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDNDA4OGJiNzAtYzQyZC0xMWUwLTlmYmYtMjMyZWZlYjg5YThh;_ylg=X3oDMTF2Y2VzZTFkBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAN1c3xyZWxpZ2lvbgRwdANzZWN0aW9ucwR0ZXN0Aw–;_ylv=3

According to the article, some Croatians are concerned that transferring the monastery would open the door to Italians demanding property rights lost after the Second World War.

Here are a few more details:

The Italian Benedictines began their claim for Dajla monastery in 2004. Four years later, Pope Benedict established a special commission of cardinals to rule on the issue. They reported back to the Pope in December 2010.

The commission’s decision in favor of the Italian Benedictines caused protests in Croatia and led to Bishop Ivan Milovan of Porec and Pula being temporarily suspended by Pope Benedict last month to finally allow the agreement to be signed.

The Vatican ruling seemed to have particularly angered some Croatians as the Italian Benedictines had already received 1.7 billion liras (approximately $1.2 million dollars) in 1975 when the Treaty of Osimo finally settled the Yugoslav-Italian border.

catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-astonished-by-croatian-government-blocking-monastery-transfer/