Ljubljana - Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore expressed the wish for a continuation of the dialogue between the state and the Roman Catholic Church as he berated previous governments for not showing willingness to address all open issues.

"There has never been a concrete willingness to address all the remaining open issues" that are not the subject of the agreement between Slovenia and the Holy See signed in 2001, he said during a sermon at a mass on Wednesday celebrating the anniversary of Slovenian statehood.

"The time has never been right, or the circumstances were not all that favourable. Hopefully the government which has now taken the reign in Slovenia will find the willingness to tackle open issues," he said.

He wishes that the new government manage the country wisely, and to be guided by wisdom in "the protection of human life, marital and family life, social solidarity with the poor, sick and infirm, and in the protection of religious freedom."

The appeal comes less than three weeks after Bishop Andrej Saje, the head of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference, addressed a letter to Prime Minister Robert Golob expressing the hope for "constructive cooperation."