This morning, during the International Meeting that is going on in Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljic met a delegation of the “Youth for Peace”, a Movement of the Community of Sant'Egidio, in St. Cyril and Methodius Church.
The youth present, more than fifty from various cities of Italy and committed with the Community in helping children and elderly, wanted to express to the Cardinal their gratitude and admiration for having been a courageous testimony during the dark years of the war.
Puljić, speaking about those difficult years, said that he found strength in prayer.
''A strenght I never missed - he said. While we felt grenades dropping, I used to go with my priests in the basement and prayed all night. Prayer is a source of hope and has helped us to survive the fear''.
Asked by a guy who asked how he lived through those difficult years, the Cardinal replied: ''The war was for me a school of the cross, and this is worth more than a university faculty. I felt the power being in the hands of God, and the urge to do something as a Christian. Relying on God makes man creative'' and, showing them the cross he wears, he explained that it is not a sign but a path. '' We have to walk through this path to know the love of Christ, without which it’s not possible to live.''
Puljić then concluded the meeting with his fatherly and hopeful words: "We want to create also here a movement of young people. You are a hope for the Church, and your faith is a strength for our time.''