Father Ilijo Arlovic forgave those who tortured and killed his parishioners in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Father Ilijo Arlovic stated in an interview with Ayuda a la Iglesia Necesitada that he forgave the militants who attacked his community in Stara Rijeka. During an attack by Serbian militants on July 23, 1992, 106 Catholic men from the village, including Arlovic, were taken. Arlovic reported receiving more than 300 blows with a baseball bat, which resulted in seven fractured ribs and several dislocated vertebrae.

Arlovic noted that 77 Catholic parishioners were killed in a nearby village during the same period. He said his decision to forgive his torturers was based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and his identity as a priest.