ZAGREB, May 9, 2018 - The Croatian Bishops Conference (HGK) Permanent Council said on Wednesday the Church cared about the promotion and improvement of political decision-making and that believers should stand for and promote Christian values in a pluralist society, but that referendum activities were inappropriate on sacral premises.
The Council was notified on May 3 that parishes had been receiving memos from the "Truth about the Istanbul Convention" and "The People Decide" citizens' initiatives about the collection of signatures for referendums, asking the parishes to notify believers about them during services and enable the collection on church premises.
The memos' authors said they had notified bishops about that, which could create certain ambiguities, the HGK Permanent Council said, adding that such activities were not appropriate on sacral premises and that churches should not provide information about them so as not to burden Sunday services.
