Project details

 During the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Catholic populace of the diocese of Banja Luka experienced significant loss of life and property. The authorities persecuted the Catholic minority and forced them to leave their homes and places of business. This systemic persecution often also involved direct attacks meant to kill civilians, as well as imprisonment of many people in concentration camps. In 1995 the conflict reached its tragic culmination, and many Catholic families had been forced to flee for their lives and live abroad as refugees. Of the eighty thousand Catholics who lived the Bosnian Serb Republic, only 6,500 are still present today. Very few now want to speak of the terror, of the uncertainty and violence that impacted families and their children during the horrific years of war. Especial attention is due the fact that families have been profoundly traumatized, because many have yet to receive adequate treatment by mental health specialists, which would enable victims to alleviate the psychic wounds dealt of extreme violence. Moreover, the economy is very poor and about 40% of the population is unemployed, giving people little hope for a better future. The Catholic minority is particularly effected by the economic malaise, since it suffers from many different forms of additional continued discrimination. Thus, fifteen years after the conclusion of the conflict consequences of the lack of professional therapeutic services to Catholic families are still very evident: there are many divorces, an increase in single motherhood, an alarming increase of domestic violence, as well as much alcohol and drug abuse. The “Family Consultation Center” is a facility established by the diocese of Banja Luka. It seeks to offer Catholic psychological and professional services throughout the Bosnian Serb Republic to all those seeking to deal with difficult psychological issues caused by the conflict of 1991-1995. 

 

IMPACTHOPE'S OBJECTIVES 

The “Family Consultation Center” is a free service supporting the Catholic population of the Diocese of Banja Luka. Its objective is to relieve pastorally overburdened priests of the ongoing challenge of helping parishioners cope with serious psychological problems due to the war. The Center, in addition to primary treatment and follow-up, also aims to conduct parish outreach to aid people in facing continuing emergent psychological consequences from the conflict, with a particular pastoral focus on aiding families with the aim of promoting the dignity of marriage and family life.