The pope recently visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo where he spoke about the country’s past and present. Bringing a message of “peace and reconciliation,” the pope met with senior government officials as well as with many of the religious leaders, and held a mass before thousands of supporters.

During the one-day visit, Pope Francis delivered four key speeches, most of which centered on the city’s bloody past. Yet in every address the pope gave, crucial facts were conspicuously absent.

As the pope cruised by the throngs of supporters packed in the city streets, he would have undoubtedly noticed the bullet-ridden buildings and the gravestones that sprout up from nearly every available piece of grass in the city—the remnants of a bloodthirsty war.

In 1992 the Bosnian war broke out. Sarajevo bled for four years under the longest siege in modern history. Almost 150,000 people were killed in the violence, as the nation of Yugoslavia was torn limb from limb. Most of those killed were victims of ethnic and religious cleansing—a term coined during the war.

The forces of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina squared off against the Bosnian Serbs and Croats. The latter two were supported by Serbia and Croatia respectively. Two million people fled the violence at the time—more than half the nation’s population today.

During his visit, the pope told his audience, “You have no right to forget your story.” Emphasizing a long-held nickname—“The Jerusalem of Europe”—the pope said that, while the city had a past mired in war, it had taken leaps and bounds towards reconciliation and peace.

After hearing tearful accounts of torture and violence from three Catholic survivors—a nun and two priests—the pope said, “Even the deepest wounds can be healed by purifying memories and firmly anchoring hopes in the future.”

But while the pope touched on the bloody past of Sarajevo, he didn’t mention its origins. The crucial missing element was the fact that the Vatican had a large hand in bringing about the war. And while Christians did suffer, much of the ethnic cleansing was directed at the Muslim population!

In 1991, Germany announced that it would build diplomatic relations with the breakaway states of Croatia and Slovenia. And right alongside Germany was the Vatican.

The eagerness of the Vatican was obvious. Both Balkan states were staunchly loyal to the Roman Catholic Church. This was despite the fact that Croatia had—in recent memory—been an active supporter of the Nazis in World War ii! Croatia’s leaders refused to disassociate themselves from that past and Pope John Paul iistill threw his weight behind the breakup.

The Vatican was willing to stand alongside Germany in defiance of the UN, the U.S. and even the rest of Europe. Practically the whole world was against the idea of dividing Yugoslavia!

Shockingly, Germany and the Vatican won. The United Nations, the United States and Europe all backed down and eventually supported the move. No sooner than Croatia broke away, the rest of Yugoslavia collapsed into civil war and blood ran on the streets of Sarajevo.

Of the over 38,800 civilian casualties of the Bosnian war, most were Bosnian Muslims or “Bosniaks.” The Srebrenica massacre took place in July 1995. More than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were rounded up and murdered. Then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan described it as the worst crime on European soil since the Second World War.

But in the end, Germany and the Vatican had their way. Yugoslavia was gone. The breakaway of Croatia gave Germany dominance over the region—ensuring the protection and independence of the stoutly Catholic states. Even though many Catholics fled cities like Sarajevo, the Vatican-German combine gained a decisive victory over the world—much to the shame of the U.S. and Europe.

Life has not improved much for the people of Sarajevo. Unemployment statistics in Bosnia and Herzegovina are some of the worst in the world. The annual income per person is a measly $9,000 per year.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in his booklet Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans (free upon request):

Two republics now have their independence because of Germany and the pope. The whole world would have been against the independence of these two republics had not Germany and the pope spoken out in support of them! These events revealed a great deal about the power Germany has developed. But more importantly, they projected where Germany and the Vatican are headed in the future!

Pope Francis was eager to speak to the masses about those who endured the atrocities, and about how a bright future lies ahead for the Balkans. But when Sarajevo’s history is looked upon without Pope Francis’s glossy overview, his statements are little more than platitudes from the conqueror to the conquered.

Following Kosovo, UN missions were handed to Europe. Bosnia and Herzegovina are attempting to join the EU today. Even now, the EU elects somebody to the position of the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This person has power to impose legislation and dismiss elected officials and civil servants if he—and the German-led EU—decides to. This means the EU has more power and control over the nation than its elected leaders do.

If you haven’t already, request our free booklet Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans. It will explain to you why Germany has targeted the region. It will show you why the Vatican and Germany were able to gain unprecedented control over the Balkans. And most importantly, it will explain how this ties to Bible prophecy and coming world events.

As Mr. Flurry wrote:

This major turnaround in the Balkans has caused Europe to look to Germany once again …The outcome will be frighteningly similar to World War ii—except it will be a thousand times worse! … We have been teaching this message for over 50 years. The only way for anyone to escape this coming catastrophe is to repent of their evil ways. May God help us hear the trumpet sounding.

This is the message that Sarajevo needs to hear—not soft words of a fanaticized “peace and reconciliation.” Keep watching, because Germany and the Vatican are not done yet. The Balkans and the “Jerusalem of Europe” were just the beginning.