Sarajevo archbishop laments Srebrenica genocide on 30th anniversary

July 14, 2025

Archbishop Tomo Vukšić of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (map), lamented the Srebrenica genocide on its thirtieth anniversary.

During the 1995 massacre, Bosnian Serb forces killed 8,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men.

“On the one hand, there is disbelief and shock at the international community’s impotence to prevent such a horrendous tragedy, and on the other, there is prayer for the dead and human and Christian solidarity with those who suffer,” Archbishop Vukšić told Vatican News.

“And these feelings of ours are renewed even in the face of war tragedies that continue to recur to this day,” he continued. “As if the world had learned nothing from previous tragedies.”

Archbishop Vukšić described the “pacification of memories” as a “long process and requires much patience and perseverance. At the same time, it is the prerequisite for forgiveness and reconciliation, which, together with justice, are the foundations of a just and lasting peace.”

“We have achieved some results, but there is still much to do,” he said. “And the Social Doctrine of the Church can be of great help in this regard.”

Describing his nation, and referring to the Bosnian War (1992-1995), the prelate said that Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed “of three religious groups: Muslims, who are ethnically Bosnians; Orthodox, who are ethnically Serbs; and Catholics, who are ethnically Croats. Each of these communities suffered greatly during the war, and there were victims on all sides. And every victim must not be forgotten.”

 

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Further information:

• Srebrenica, l'arcivescovo Vukšić: pacificare la memoria, difficile ma necessario (Vatican News)