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Thp ft ft Sou hern Diocese of £ "i __ _ Savannah | ^fOSS VOL. 79, No. 20 Thursday, May 20, 1999 $.50 PER ISSUE Contents Headline Hopscotch 2 News 3 Commentary 4-5 Vietnamese Mission 6-7 Faith Alive! 8-9 Notices 10-11 Last But Not Least 12 Savannah is is a long way from home where Ann Nguyen grew up in Vietnam. However, she and others who had to leave that war-tom country have found refuge here. At Saints Peter and Paul Vietnamese Mission, Savannah, they con tinue to welcome others in a place they call home. A reprint of an Extension magazine article about the mission appears on pages 6-7. When Saints Peter and Paul parishioners saw the magazine, "they were very excited to see the familiar faces of people in the community," said Father Kim Son Nguyen. Pope, German chancellor discuss conflict in Balkans By Lynne Weil Rome P ope John Paul II and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder discussed the Balkan conflict during Schroeder’s series of mid-May meetings with European and NATO authorities. Schroeder spent about 25 minutes in private with Pope John Paul May 18, the pontiff’s 79th birthday. The pair conducted “an overview of/the prin cipal themes of the moment, dwelling in partic ular on the dramatic situation in the Balkans and on the possibility of reaching a just and honorable solution to the problems in the whole area as soon as possible,” Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Vails said in a statement. After the closed-door meeting in his library, Pope John Paul chatted with Schroeder about living conditions for non-Germans in his coun try. The pope asked, “How are relations between foreigners in Germany and the Germans?” He then added, “There are many foreigners work ing there.” “They are getting along pretty well,” Schroed er replied. “But there are also many from Islamic coun tries,” Pope John Paul continued. The chancellor agreed, and said, “especially from Turkey. They also are getting along.” The pope nodded and said, “Good. Good.” Just before a meeting with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, the chan cellor told journalists that during his “very, very interesting” visit with Pope John Paul, the con versation also concerned Eastern Europe — he did not specify which countries. “And as for the rest,” Schroeder added, “one does not speak about it.” Navarro-Vails noted in his statement that Schroeder also conveyed “his cordial wishes for the day’s festivities.” Schroeder presented Pope John Paul with an 18th-century Dutch print of Krakow, Poland. The print included the cathedral where the pope presided as cardinal and head of the Krakow Archdiocese. Among the 17 people traveling with the chan cellor was German Foreign Minister Otto Schilly, who was grinning after the private ses sion and heartily wished the pope “Buon Com- pleanno” — “happy birthday” in Italian.