ZAGREB, 29 Jan 2022 - Pope Francis on Saturday decided on the retirement of Cardinal Vinko Puljić, the Archbishop of Sarajevo, who would be succeeded by the current coadjutor archbishop, Tomo Vukšić, the Vatican reported.

In September 2020, Cardinal Puljić offered his resignation when he turned 75. He has been at the helm of the Archdiocese of Sarajevo since 6 January 1991, and became a cardinal in 1994. He is the first Catholic dignitary in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be declared a cardinal.

Vukšić, born in the village of Studenci in Herzegovina in 1954, became the coadjutor archbishop in Sarajevo two years ago.

He was ordained the first military ordinary in Bosnia and Herzegovina at a ceremony held in Mostar's cathedral in April 2011. He is a professor at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Sarajevo, and a lecturer at at the postgraduate studies at the Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb.

May 17, 2021 - The Archbishop of Rijeka, Mate Uzinić, has asked forgiveness from homosexuals for feeling rejected by the Church and not getting pastoral guidance in accordance with the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

Uzinić issued a message on Facebook on Monday on the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, expressing regret that there are still Catholics who disagree with the spirit of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

Amoris Laetitia says that "every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while every sign of unjust discrimination is to be carefully avoided, par­ticularly any form of aggression and violence."

"We also have a duty to guarantee to these people and their families considerate pastoral guidance so that people showing homosexual inclinations can get the necessary help to be able to fully understand and realize God's will in their lives," Uzinić wrote in his message.

"I regret that there are still Catholics who disagree with this, in particular those who think that they serve Christ and the Church through discrimination, aggression, violence, insults, and abusive comments at the expense of homosexual persons," he added, asking homosexuals for their forgiveness.

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ZAGREB, Nov 18, 2020 - During Wednesday's religious services on the occasion of Vukovar and Skabrnja Remembrance Day, Cardinal Vinko Puljic and Archbishop Zelimir Puljic called for forgiveness and building coexistence based on truth.

In order to have a cleansed memory and create the right prerequisites for coexistence, it is necessary to have the courage to call everything by its name and look at the facts through cause and effect. Without truth and justice, there is no stable peace and restoring trust, Cardinal Puljic, the Archbishop of Sarajevo, said during Mass in Vukovar.

Hate that causes crimes must not dominate the conversation and one should admit to the crimes for there to be forgiveness, he said, asking all criminals to "become aware of their crimes."

Faith should help to create co-existence, forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoring trust, Cardinal Puljic said, adding that peace-building rested on truth. "There can be no reconciliation and trust without an internal catharsis," he said, adding that those who did not want the truth stood behind evil, defending it and thereby supporting the negative atmosphere between people.

"By this, I don't wish to cause bitterness which incites hate, let alone revenge, but clearly says that the right dialogue, which leads to reconciliation, rests on accepting the truth," said Cardinal Puljic.

Celebrating Mass in Skabrnja, Zadar Archbishop Puljic said it was clear that "the people who experienced the horrors of Skabrnja and Vukovar can hardly forget and forgive what happened to them."

Speaking to the press later, he said, "since we went through tough days, it's now necessary to make tough decisions," as taught by Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Franjo Kuharic.

"If we wish to look ahead, if we want a better future, we must turn to the future. All segments of society must work on it so that, in the state which is now free, independent and democratic, rule tolerance, love, forgiveness, joint activity for our better future."

Their sacrifice is not worthy of what often happens, which is polarization and intolerance. They fought for freedom and a better society, and in that spirit, their message is just that, he said.

November 8, 2020 - Nedelisce parishioners are seemingly universal in their understanding and forgiveness as their local pastor leaves the priesthood for an altogether different kind of calling

Not every job is undertaken just to pay the bills. The strong urge to take a specific career is often referred to as a calling. Occupations in which you help other people are usually those described in this way - doctors, teachers, nurses, nuns and priests.

Spoken of with admiration, those who receive 'a calling' are presumed to be on a path of life which is their true destiny. Be it supernatural, genetically implanted or influenced by God, it is considered unlikely that anything could turn their heads and make them veer off course. Such considerations are naïve in their ignorance of Cupid's arrow.

Both Vecernji List and 24 Sata this week reported on the recent resignation of popular parish priest Rev. Tihomir Ciglar (30). Although on his path to the priesthood since he attended Archbishop's Classical Gymnasium in Zagreb, Ciglar has recently departed from his chosen course in favour of an altogether different calling - he fell in love.

The parish church in Nedelišće © Župa Presvetog Trojstva - Nedelišće

“He was wonderful.,” one of Ciglar's former Nedelisce parishioners is quoted as saying in 24 Sata. Nedelišće is a small town near Varaždin. “He was mild-mannered, good, everyone's favourite. My whole family loved going to Mass and listening to the sermons because of him. And then what happened, happened. He just fell in love, that's how it was.”

“We don't blame him for anything,” the parishioner continued, her voice apparently representative of locals' general feeling on the affair of the popular priest. She also added that news was circulating about the imminent arrival of the couple's first child. “May God give them many more children!”

Tihomir Ciglar was first presented to Nedelisce parishioners in 2014 as a chaplain, and in 2018 he was appointed pastor of the church. His pull from the pulpit occurred after he met the woman who is now his girlfriend in service of the church – she donated her time in the form of a cook. Further speculation on the development of feelings between the woman and her roamin Catholic partner is perhaps best left for village gossip.

An older image of the church in Nedelišće © TZ Nedelišće

In a heartfelt letter Ciglar penned to his flock, which was read aloud at Mass last Sunday, he asked for their forgiveness. The Nedelisce parishioners seem uniform in their understanding of the situation.

“I wasn't surprised when the letter was read,” one is quoted as saying in 24 Sata. “We'd seen something happen between him and that girl before. That's no small thing with us. Still, we were all kind of rooting for their love story.”

The local diocese is in the process of assigning another young priest to the parish. It is unlikely that the new priest will be similarly tempted from his path, but, you never know. This is not the first time it has happened. A similar case was recorded in Nedelišće forty years ago when a priest left the service out of love for a woman.

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ZAGREB, June 16, 2020 - The leader of the SDP and the Restart coalition, Davor Bernardic, said on Tuesday that the Church should not be interfering in politics and elections because Croatia is a secular country, commenting on the recommendations by the Croatian Bishops' Conference for the July 5 parliamentary election.

"First of all, Croatia is a secular country and the Church should not be interfering in politics or in elections. This suggests that they are dissatisfied with the government because it failed to ban work on Sundays," Bernardic said at a presentation of the Restart coalition's education programme.

Speaking of the position of prime minister within the SDP (Social Democratic Party) and the Restart coalition, he said that under a decision by the SDP's main committee the president of the SDP is the candidate for prime minister.

Bernardic said that an interview with the head of the Homeland Movement, Miroslav Skoro, clearly showed that Skoro intended to form a coalition with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, adding that a vote for Skoro was a vote for the HDZ and vice versa.

Asked why he had declined an invitation to face off against Plenkovic in a debate on the public television service HRT, Bernardic reiterated that he had confirmed his participation in debates on the commercial television channels Nova TV and RTL during the official part of the election campaign.

"There is an impression that this is a competition for the President of the Republic or a tennis match between me and Plenkovic. No, this is the presentation of the best team and the best programme for Croatia. I know it's embarrassing for Plenkovic to talk about his team because 15 people have left it," Bernardic said.

As for Zeljko Sabo, who has been included on the SDP's election slate although he was found guilty of corruption by a court of law, Bernardic said that the rehabilitation period had passed.

The ratification of the Istanbul Convention has aroused strong feelings and protests on both sides in recent weeks. Longterm expat resident of Split Tim Bourcier explains his views on what happened in Split last Friday in a guest blog.

TCN's Tanja Radmilo takes a closer look at curriculum reforms, and what exactly stands behind the lack of progress...