The authorities of the northern Adriatic Istria County said on Saturday they would see to it that the rights and interests of the Porec-Pula Roman Catholic diocese and citizens of Istria were respected, expressing dissatisfaction with "the blatant violation of the Osimo Treaty, Croatian laws and the international treaty between the Holy See and Croatia, which could harm the good relations between Italy and Croatia."
County head Ivan Jakovcic issued the statement following a demand by the Italian Benedictine order that they be given back a monastery in the Dajla parish in the Porec-Pula diocese or financial compensation worth millions of euros.
If the diocese and the Dajla parish are made to immediately turn over to the Benedictines valuable real estate and EUR 500,000 in compensation, and within a year another 5.5 million euros in compensation, taxes and court fees, and if rulings by Croatian courts and appeals by the Porec-Pula diocese and Bishop Ivan Milovan are ignored, the Porec-Pula diocese may face bankruptcy, Jakovcic said in the statement.
He added that as far as the public was aware, the Italian Benedictines from Dajla had already received compensation under the Osimo Treaty from the Italian state in the amount of 1.7 billion lire.
