His Holiness Pope Francis / Apostolic Palace / 00120 Vatican City

September 16, 2014

Your Holiness, It is a great honor for me to write to you on behalf of Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE! (the Movement for SELF-DETERMINATION in Kosova). The activists in our movement, like the people in Kosova, are enthusiastic about Your forthcoming visit to Albania this month. For us, Your visit signals Your kindness, love, hope and support for all the citizens of Albania and the Albanian nation in general. Your visit will be a special blessing for the Catholic Albanians who live in Albania, Kosova and Montenegro. We in VETËVENDOSJE! are especially hopeful with regard to your visit because through your actions, you have focused the attention of the world on the poor and downtrodden. You set an important and inspiring example for us, for our people – and our leaders – since in Kosova, we struggle with enduring poverty. The life and work of Mother Teresa has likewise been a leading example for Albanians and for the world of what it means to commit oneself to the most impoverished. As You know, when you arrive in Albania You will be landing at the airport that bears her name. I would like to draw Your attention to the well-known phenomenon of religious coexistence that Albanians have cherished for centuries. Religious coexistence has enabled cooperation across religious lines and mutual respect for the religious shrines, symbols and rites of our different faiths. It has made possible for our nation to survive as one – uniting the Albanian Catholic, Muslim, and Orthodox faithful. Although the majority of Albanians today are Muslims, we recall with deep respect and gratitude the contribution of our Catholic clergy to the preservation and cultivation of Albanian literature. Indeed, the first written texts in the Albanian language are commentaries on the Bible written by Catholic clerics. Some of our first schools in the Albanian language were led by Jesuits in Shkodra. In Kosova, we especially remember Catholic priests and friars from the Franciscan Order at the forefront of the defense of Albanians and our struggle for the right to self-determination in the 19th and 20th centuries. They informed the outside world about the suffering of Albanian civilians during the Balkan wars – when our people were unjustly divided by borders – and during the inter-war period. I know of two friars who died defending Albanians in Kosova – Friar Luigj Palaj who was killed near Gjakova, in 1913, leading his community to resist forced conversion; and Friar Bernard Llupi, who was executed in 1945 for his resistance against Serbian and Yugoslav Colonial rule of Kosova. These men of faith and of conscience acted as representatives not only of Catholic Albanians, but of the whole Albanian people.

Your Holiness, When my country, Kosova, declared its independence in 2008, it was for all of us in Kosova, and across the Balkans, a chance to build a more peaceful life, regardless of national and ethnic belonging. Recognizing independence as an instrument of peace, the Republic of Kosova has been recognized by the majority of the world’s democratic states – more than 100 states currently. The fact that Kosova is not yet a member of the UN, however, remains a cause of insecurity which contributes to the enduring poverty of Kosova’s people and encourages hegemonic aspirations of Serbia. As a result, the people of Kosova remain the poorest people in Europe: approximately 18% live in extreme poverty and 45% are unemployed. Recognition of our independence – and our right to determine our own future – is vital to enable us to develop, to build schools and an economy that might bring prosperity and peace to our country. The Vatican’s recognition of Kosova would be a step toward empowering the people of Kosova in the struggle to achieve a dignified life for all our citizens. We are aware that the politics of recognition may be a delicate and complex matter for the Holy See and its diplomatic relations with other states. Nevertheless, it is the ordinary citizens of Kosova who bear the burden of this lack of recognition in their daily lives. I therefore kindly ask Your Holiness to pray for us and to seek the truth and justice at the heart of this matter. Your visit to Albania will be a great historical event for all Albanians and I hope that in the future we will have also the satisfaction and the honor of Your visit to Kosova.

Yours sincerely,

Albin Kurti President, Lëvizja VETËVENDOSJE! (Movement for SELF-DETERMINATION! in Kosova) Member of Parliament in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosova