If the pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and the Vatican head of state, decided to accept the invitation of the president the day before yesterday Jakov MIlatović to visit Montenegro, a few more "obstacles" need to be resolved in order for the visit to take place, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" said.
Among them are the usual consultations with the majority religious community, if it is not Catholic, as well as the currently deteriorating health of the 87-year-old pope, who these days has canceled some of his regular religious duties and public appearances.
Religious analyst Vladimir Veljkovic he assessed that all the conditions for a possible visit of the Pope Francis to Montenegro have not yet been fulfilled, and therefore it is difficult to expect such a visit to happen in the foreseeable future.
Source from the cabinet of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, who spoke with the Pope for half an hour in the Vatican, said that the only possible obstacle is his health, but that the fact that Rome is close "gives the possibility that the Pope will come".
And Chancellor of the Kotor Diocese Robert Tonsati he drew attention to the Pope's age and health. "The Pope's health and age should also be taken into account, which are also important factors in planning his daily obligations and international trips," he told "Vijesta".
For the type of visit that would be to Montenegro, the pope usually expects some kind of at least tacit consent from the representatives of the majority religious community, although this is never formally mentioned, a Montenegrin expert on the Vatican told "Vijesta". "Basically, he doesn't need it, but the Holy See takes care not to destroy relations".
The Metropolis of Montenegrin Littoral (MPC) "News" did not answer yesterday what they think about the possible visit of Pope Francis to Montenegro.
"That call comes from the head of state to the pope, who is also the head of state," said this source from Miltović's cabinet, answering the question of whether they had spoken with the metropolitan. Ioannici or someone from the SPC before inviting the Pope to visit Montenegro. He said that it is not the first time that Montenegro has invited the Pope to visit.
Milatović announced the day before yesterday that such a visit would represent a step forward in deepening the relationship between Montenegro and the Holy See, but also a confirmation of the state's commitment to preserve and improve relations with all religious communities in the country.
Commenting on the procedure that must be completed in order for the visit to take place at all, Veljković said that papal visits to other countries have three basic levels.
"Diplomatically or politically, therefore, there must be mutual political will and consent of the two parties, the host state and the papal state, for such a visit to be realized. Then there is also the important pastoral level, because the pope is also the head of the church of the Catholic faithful in a country, so he also visits the Catholic church in the country that hosts him," Veljković said.
He emphasized that the ecumenical dimension of papal visits is also very important, "because it is important to maintain good relations with other churches and religious communities, especially if it is about countries that are not traditionally Catholic."
"In this case, we have fulfilled only the first condition, but partially, because only the Montenegrin president expressed his good will. While the other conditions, as it seems to me, have not yet been met. That is why it is difficult to expect such a visit in the foreseeable future," said Veljković.
Answering the question of whether the "permission" of the head of the majority religious community, formal or informal, is needed for the visit to take place at all, Veljković clarified that it is the ecumenical part he mentioned, which has not yet been fulfilled.
"That's why I said... that it is difficult to expect such a visit at this moment," said Veljković.
Tonsati told "Vijesti" that the pope, as the supreme head of the Catholic Church and the head of the Vatican City State, can hardly go "informally" anywhere outside of Rome.
“Unless it's incognito, it's always formal. Considering the typology of the visit, there can be a difference. For example, it can be a pastoral visit to a diocese (in Italy), an apostolic trip to a country, or it can visit the headquarters of an international organization or participate in an international gathering, or in large Catholic gatherings such as the World Youth Day that always organizes in another country, and very often on other continents".
Explaining what the procedure is for the Pope to visit a country, he said that first the state authorities should send an official invitation to the Pope.
"If that invitation is formally accepted, then the planning of the agenda and itinerary will begin. Competent authorities of both countries are involved in the planning and diplomatic protocols and procedures are followed. Since protocols may differ from country to country, this is always taken into account when preparing”.
Tonsati said that although it often happens that presidents and prime ministers during official visits invite the pope to visit their country, these visits do not always happen.
He said that the significance is always extremely great and multifaceted, stating that the pope's visit "encourages Christians in their religious life, but that it is also an opportunity to strengthen dialogue, ecumenism, promote peace, promote closeness between different groups, sometimes also to confront by a painful past and more committed to the establishment of justice".
"It is not necessary that the country the Pope visits is neither predominantly Christian nor Catholic: whatever the composition of the population, the Pope's visit is always an opportunity for peaceful dialogue and fellowship. From an international point of view, such a visit also brings a lot of media attention to the country where the Pope is staying, and strengthening ties with the Holy See is also important on a cultural and humanitarian level," said the chancellor of the Kotor diocese.
The former president of the state spoke about the visit of the head of the Catholic Church in previous years Milo Djukanovic and the Prime Minister Dusko Markovic.
According to announcements by Marković's cabinet at the end of 2019, the visit of Pope Francis to Montenegro was allegedly confirmed for the following year. It is, however, not happen. The Holy See then announced that the pope did not plan to travel abroad in 2020, because the coronavirus pandemic is too great a danger for his health.
That invitation was most likely delivered by then President Đukanović, who after meeting with the Pope in the Vatican in 2018 also said that Pope Francis intends to visit Montenegro.
"The invitation for the Pope's visit to Montenegro is on the table. Certainly, we touched on that issue today and the Holy Father announced his determination to visit Montenegro as part of taking care of our region. The Pope has announced visits to three countries from our region for next year, but that there is no doubt that he will find time to visit Montenegro after that and to show his appreciation for the one huge moral capital that Montenegro has, which is quality multi-ethnic and multi-religious harmony. It should be said that in all of this, the Catholic Church and the Catholic community make a very recognizable contribution," Đukanović said at the time.
An expert for the Vatican told "Vijesti" that, as far as he was informed, the Pope's arrival in Montenegro was "never seriously on his agenda", so it did not even reach the late Metropolitan Amphilochia, because the pope wasn't even planning to come.
He said that he was the previous pope Benedict XVI more than ten years ago he wanted to come to Montenegro, but that at that time not everything was "brightest" with the Serbian Orthodox Church, because then there was talk of a cardinal (Aloysius) Stepinac, whose declaration as a Catholic saint by the SPC had objections, due to his actions during the period of the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1945. Stepinac was beatified by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Croatia in 1998.
The Pope also visited majority Orthodox countries
In the 11 years since his appointment, Pope Francis has visited about sixty countries, including majority Orthodox countries in the region.
In December 2021, he visited Greece and Cyprus as part of a tour of Mediterranean countries during which he wanted to highlight the suffering of migrants and refugees. He also visited the Moria refugee camp in Greece in 2016.
In 2019, Pope Francis paid a three-day visit to Romania to "strengthen dialogue with the Orthodox Church and provide support to religious and ethnic minorities." The Pope then, as it was announced, devoted himself mostly to migrants and poverty, and during the visit he spoke with officials of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Before that, the last papal visit to Romania was 20 years ago, when John Paul II was in that country.
In May 2019, Pope Francis visited Bulgaria and what was then Macedonia. As it was shared at the time, Pope Francis considered it a "moral obligation to turn towards the sensitive part of the population, which is in contrast to the Bulgarian government's hard stance towards migrants". At the center of the program of the visit to Macedonia was the memory of Mother Teresa, who was born in Skopje and who was declared a saint by Pope Francis in 2016.
The Pope also visited Albania in 2014, and a year later in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Vatican opens an embassy in Podgorica?
The "Vijesti" source from the President's office said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Vatican, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, who was at the meeting between Milatović and the Prime Minister - State Secretary Pjetr Parolin, will come to Montenegro at the end of March, when the mixed meeting will be renewed after six years. , an interstate commission, which is co-chaired by two ministers of foreign affairs.
The same source stated that the opening of an embassy - nunciature of the Vatican in Montenegro is also being discussed, but they are waiting for the capital city to "help with the land".
It remains, as the source said, to sign an agreement on cooperation in the field of culture, and to renew the cooperation between the Clinical Center of Montenegro and the famous Vatican children's hospital "Bambino Gesu".
"It is also expected that the Vatican can provide great support to Montenegro's candidacy for a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2026 to 2028."
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