ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - The decision made by the City of Sisak and Mayor Kristina Ikić Baniček (SDP) to ban Caritas Croatia to conduct a humanitarian action in local schools prompted MP Marijana Petir to report the whole case to the Public Ombudswoman as an example of "discrimination based on faith and education".
The report filed by this independent lawmaker on Friday reads that the ban issued by the city authorities violate "the religious rights and freedoms " of the Catholic Church, which are guaranteed by the Croatian Constitution and the international treaties between Croatia and the Holy See.
Recently, the Caritas charity has reported that Catholic Religious Education teachers said that they they had been summoned by the headmasters of schools in the City of Sisak to be informed that they would no longer be allowed to conduct humanitarian actions in schools and that only volunteers of the city's Red Cross branch could carry out charitable campaigns in the schools concerned. Until this ban, both Caritas and Red Cross volunteers were engaged in humanitarian drives aimed at collecting aid for victims of the 2020 devastating earthquake and for Ukrainian victims of the Russian invasion.
Petir writes in her letter to the Public Ombudswoman that the RE subject is a part of the school system and that apart from the theoretical knowledge which should be acquired, the role of this subject is also to encourage students to do concrete acts of charity for others.
She recalls that between 75-95% of school-age children attend RE classes in the City of Sisak and that their religious rights are enshrined in the Constitution.
The ombudswoman is requested to take swift steps in line with the law to protect believers and their rights.
After the news about the ban was broken on 17 March, Hina asked the city authorities for the comment but no response was sent.
