ZAGREB, 11 May 2022 - The Vatican's State Secretary, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, arrived in Zagreb on Tuesday for a three-day visit during which he will meet with the highest Croatian religious and political leaders, the Zagreb Archdiocese said in a statement.

Parolin is visiting Croatia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its recognition and the 25th anniversary of the ratification of three agreements between the Holy See and Croatia.

The Vatican dignitary was welcomed at Zagreb Airport by a delegation headed by Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanić.

On Wednesday, Parolin will meet with members of the Croatian Bishops Conference, and later on the same day he will lead a religious service in Zagreb.

On Thursday, Cardinal Parolin is expected to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and address the parliament, after which he will meet with President Zoran Milanović, the Zagreb Archdiocese said.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 18 Dec, 2021 - Activists of the Workers' Front party on Saturday addressed reporters outside the Sisak General Hospital, by a newly installed sculpture representing Virgin Mary and Child Jesus, calling for the termination of agreements between Croatia and the Vatican.

The sculpture, installed outside the entrance to the new hospital block in early December, was a gift to the hospital by the Sisak Diocese.

Workers' Front activist David Bilić said the sculpture "is a tasteless expression of the wealth of the Catholic Church outside an earthquake-damaged hospital that has still not been reconstructed."

"The Workers' Front believes too much money is set aside for the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia, as a result of the Vatican agreements, signed on this day 25 years ago," Bilić said, adding that the party believed the Vatican agreements should be cancelled.

He said that the situation in society had changed due to the economic crisis that was even more felt in the earthquake-struck Sisak-Moslavina County.

The coronavirus pandemic is making the situation worse, not to speak of earthquake damage, while work on removing it is not starting, he said.

"Some will say that the Catholic Church justifies the donations through its charity work," Bilić said, noting that 11% of that money is used for charity work.

"The rest is used for other needs of the Church, which can secure quite a sufficient amount of money for its financing from alms and Vatican sources," Bilić said, with RF activists calling for the reconstruction of the earthquake-hit county to begin as soon as possible.

For more on lifestyle, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, March 19, 2020 - President Zoran Milanović on Thursday received the newly-appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Croatia, Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, his office said in a press release.

Lingua is the doyen of the diplomatic corps in Croatia. He was appointed by Pope Francis in July 2019 and presented his credentials in October.

Lingua is the sixth papal envoy to Zagreb. He previously served as Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq, Jordan and Cuba. He had also worked in the papal representations in Ivory Coast and the United States as well as in the apostolic nunciatures in Italy and Serbia.

The meeting was attended by presidential foreign policy adviser Orsat Miljenić and the nuncio's adviser Janusz Stanislaw Blachowiak.

More news about relations between Croatia and Vatican can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 6, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday invited Pope Francis to visit Croatia, expressing hope the visit would happen at the right time even though the pope usually visits smaller European countries without a Catholic majority, and as for the canonization of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, the pope's key message was "patience".

"I'm glad that we were received by Pope Francis today... I hope that he will visit Croatia at the right time," Plenković told reporters after meeting with the pontiff and the Holy See's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

After the audience, which lasted about 20 minutes, the Croatian PM and the pope exchanged gifts, with Plenković giving the pope the crucifix "The Crucifixion of Jesus" by Damir Mataušić and the second volume of the Beram Breviary in the Glagolitic script. He received from the pope a medal with key messages of solidarity and cooperation and several books authored by him.

Asked by reporters if today they had again discussed the canonization of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, Plenković said that during their brief meeting they mentioned that topic as well.

"The position of the government and, I can say, the entire Croatian people, is that our expectations and wishes are well-known, there is nothing new about that. We expect the entire procedure to be completed within the Catholic Church, as it should. The message we received is 'patience'," said Plenković.

One of the topics of the meeting between the Croatian PM and Pope Francis was ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, notably in the context of two important events held as part of Croatia's EU presidency - a meeting with representatives of the Council of Bishops' Conferences of the EU and the Conference of European Churches, and the international conference "Human Fraternity - the Foundation of Security and Peace in the World", organised by the Muslim World League, the leadership of the Islamic Community in Croatia and the Croatian Bishops' Conference.

"I think that the message we have sent through our presidency is that we are not only using the very good model of relations between the Croatian authorities and the Islamic community in Croatia but that that model can serve as an example to other European countries," said Plenković.

Pope Francis also gave Plenković a copy of a document he signed a year ago with Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, the Secretary General of the Muslim World League who visited Zagreb earlier this week, with important messages on interreligious dialogue sent out in February 2019.

PM Plenković and Pope Francis also discussed topics related to Croatia's EU presidency and the pope's global role, given that Plenković today visited the Vatican, for the second time during his term, also in his capacity as the prime minister of the country chairing the EU.

Among those topics were the topic of migrations, ways of preventing illegal migrations and regulating legal ones, the fight against poverty and social exclusion, demographic challenges in Europe and joint efforts in fighting climate change.

Asked if they had discussed EU enlargement considering that the pope had visited Albania and North Macedonia, Plenković said that that topic had been mentioned as well, notably during the meeting with Cardinal Parolin, and that he had told them that the EU-Western Balkan summit, to be held in Zagreb in May, would send a strong message to neighbouring countries regarding the prospect of their EU membership.

This has been met with approval because we share the view that reform processes and the process of fulfilling the necessary standards can be encouraged only with a proactive policy and involvement, said Plenković.

He said that he expected the issue of opening accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania to be resolved ahead of the summit, notably after yesterday's report and proposal by the European Commission for a reform of the methodology of accession talks.

As regards Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was also discussed during the meeting, Croatia attaches great importance to relations with that country, notably with regard to the status of Croats as an equal, constituent ethnic group, he said.

"We have the Holy See's understanding regarding that topic," he said.

More news about relations between Croatia and Vatican can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 18, 2019 - The presidential candidate of the Workers' Front and Socialist Workers' Party, Katarina Peović, on Wednesday called for termination of the Vatican agreements saying that they are in gross violation of Croatia's secularity.

She said that over 1 billion kuna (135 million euro) was allocated from the budget to the Catholic Church annually, while the government was claiming there was no money to increase nurses' wages.

"That amount is much higher than 1 billion kuna because there are also non-transparent allocations by local government. For example, Mayor Milan Bandić has set aside 500,000 kuna (67,500 euro) from the City of Zagreb budget to move a cross a few metres away at the Hipodrom (horse racing venue)," Peović told a press conference outside the Croatian Bishops' Conference building.

Peović said that the Vatican agreements had been signed without public consultation, which is against basic democratic standards. She said that terminating these agreements would not be easy, but that Croatia should start running a sovereign and autonomous policy for the benefit of the state, the national economy and the people.

"The actual amounts being allocated to the Church can only be speculated about because the Church does not submit any financial reports," Peović said.

More news about Katarina Peović can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 13, 2019 - Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman on Wednesday had a brief audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican, and he discussed the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States, Paul Richard Gallagher.

Grlić Radman and Gallagher confirmed the traditionally excellent relations between Croatia and the Holy See, based on their historical partnership and mutual understanding, as evidenced by reciprocal visits by high-ranking officials in the last two years.

Grlić Radman informed Gallagher of Croatia's coming presidency of the EU, and they also discussed Southeast Europe and Western Balkan countries as well as the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They agreed on the need to appoint the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible, with Grlić Radman saying that ethnic Croats had to have the right to elect their own representatives at all levels of government.

"I also conveyed our interest and said that we are awaiting with full confidence the completion of the process of canonisation of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac," said Grlić Radman.

The Croatian minister, accompanied by his family and associates, also had an audience with Pope Francis.

"He spoke nicely about Croats who have been cultivating the Croat Catholic identity throughout the centuries," said Grlić Radman.

The Holy See expressed concern about the failure to adopt a decision to launch talks with North Macedonia and Albania on the two countries' accession to the EU and supported Croatia's efforts to keep the enlargement policy in the focus of the EU's interest, the Croatian ministry said in a statement.

Grlić Radman discussed this topic also with Italy's European Affairs Minister Vincenzo Amendola. The Croatian minister warned about the importance of the May 2020 summit of EU and Western Balkan countries, which, he said, would have to send a clear and encouraging message to those countries.

The two ministers confirmed their countries' very good relations, and the Italian minister expressed his country's full support to Croatia's accession to the Schengen area of passport-free travel, the euro area and the OECD, the statement said.

More news about relations between Croatia and Vatican can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, October 20, 2019 - Several nongovernmental associations and non-parliamentary parties on Saturday staged a rally in Zagreb against Croatia's treaties with the Vatican which they labelled as detrimental.

Activist Sanja Sarnavka said that this was the seventh rally of this kind at which protesters criticised the treaties with Vatican as being in contravention with the interests of Croatia.

She called on both believers and non-believers to read the texts of those treaties more carefully.

The organisers also accused the Croatian authorities of non-transparent allocation of tax payers' money to Church institutions and organisations.

Vesna Puhovski of the Protagora association said that the revision of the Croatia-Vatican treaties can be solved only through dialogue.

She said that the treaties imposed the obligations also on non-believers to finance spiritual needs of the faithful.

Academic Vlatko Silobrčić of the Pametno party said that the Vatican treaties were against secularism in society.

The rally brought together an estimated 300 protesters, including two presidential hopefuls: Katarina Peović and Dalija Orešković.

More news about the status of Catholic Church in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, September 12, 2019 - Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said after an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Thursday that the role of the Holy See in talks on future relations between Serbs and Croats was very important, stressing that as Serbia's president he would like the pope to visit Serbia but that his visit was a matter to be decided by the Serb Orthodox Church.

"It is clear to everyone that we are divided by history and by the past, that we have completely opposite views of past events... I fear that if we fail to be responsible and continue to talk about the past, we will strengthen all the others and weaken ourselves," Vučić said, adding "We must respect one another more."

"The role of the Holy See in talks between Serbs and Croats is very important," Vučić told Serbian reporters after talks with Pope Francis, noting that one of the topics of the talks was the need to improve relations between Serbs and Croats.

He would not reveal more details about the talks or about the official positions of Zagreb and Belgrade.

Vučić said he also talked with the pope about the status of the Roman Catholic community in Serbia, which accounts for about 5.1% of the population, and particularly underlined the status of the Belgrade Archdiocese and the respect enjoyed by Belgrade Archbishop Stanislav Hočevar.

Vučić said the Vatican wanted a peaceful solution between Kosovo and Serbia and would maintain its position in that regard since the Holy See had not recognised Kosovo's independence.

Commenting on the possibility of the pope visiting Serbia, Vučić said: "I would love it if the Pope visited Serbia, but that is a matter for our church to decide".

Vučić conveyed to the pope greetings from the head of the Serb Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, and noted that he would convey his to the Serb Orthodox dignitary.

More news about relations between Croatia and Serbia can be found in the Politics section.

Pope Francis has allowed pilgrimages to Medjugorje, Msgr. Henryk Hoser announced on Sunday at a mass held in Medjugorje together with the Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina Msgr. Luigi Pezutto, reports 24sata.hr on May 13, 2019.

“Pope Francis has determined that it is possible to organise pilgrimages in Medjugorje, always making sure that they are not interpreted as recognition of well-known events that still require further examination by the church, i.e. they should not create in any way ambiguousness in the doctrinal sense. The same criterion will be applied to the shepherds of every rank and degree who wish to go to Medjugorje and celebrate in a solemn way,” announced the church.

Translated into a more comprehensible language – the faithful are now officially allowed to make pilgrimages, but this does not mean that the church officially recognises the alleged apparitions and testimonies of the so-called “visionaries,” which the church is still investigating.

According to theologian Anna Maria Gruenfelder, this means that believers must come with the proper purpose. “This means that people should come to worship God, without coming to Medjugorje as an acknowledged sanctuary because it is not. This is actually a concession by Pope to the great number of believers coming there,” said the theologian.

This decision by Pope Francis does not actually change anything, says sociologist of religion Ivica Maštruko. Everything will stay as before. “The only thing that has changed is that now parishes, dioceses and Catholic associations may organise pilgrimages to Medjugorje, which has not been allowed so far because it was not an officially recognised sanctuary. The pilgrimages have hitherto been made exclusively as a private affair. Nothing changes. A large number of believers used to come and will continue to come to Medjugorje,” said Maštruko, while Gruenfelder added that the Vatican would continue to monitor that pilgrimages are not exploited for economic benefit.

Translated from 24sata.hr (reported by Ivan Pavić).

More Medjugorje news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, February 7, 2019 - Prime Minister and president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Andrej Plenković, said on Wednesday the government was against a revision of the Croatia-Vatican agreements, stressing that the treaties would not be amendment.

"As far as our government is concerned, there will be no amendments to the Vatican agreements," Plenković told the press after a meeting of the HDZ parliamentary group when asked to comment on a motion by the GLAS and HSU opposition parties that a conclusion should be adopted to commit the government to initiate a review of the Vatican agreements given that circumstances in Croatia had changed since the treaties were signed in 1996.

The opposition's claims that some countries which, just like Croatia are pre-dominantly Catholic, have different models of financing the Church, Plenković said: "Everyone chooses their own path."

The Croatian parliament on Wednesday discussed the proposal by the GLAS and HSU group that a conclusion should be adopted to commit the government to initiate a review of the Vatican agreements given that about 900 million kuna (121 million euro) was annually allocated from the state budget for the purposes of the Catholic Church in Croatia.

The opposition group noted that this amount was higher than the 2016 budgets of the ministries of foreign affairs and tourism combined. They demanded a review of all four agreements with the Holy See: on legal affairs, economic affairs, cooperation in education and culture, and spiritual guidance.

The five-member group of the Civic and Liberal Alliance (GLAS) and the Croatian Pensioners' Party (HSU) formally requested a parliamentary debate on the matter last April, and the issue was put up for debate today thanks to signatures of members of other opposition parties. Under the parliamentary rules of procedure, any item included on the agenda for more than 60 days should be discussed within eight days based on the signatures of at least 30 MPs.

"It is a great success for us that we have come to a plenary session and opened the possibility of discussing these four agreements," GLAS leader Anka Mrak Taritaš said, stressing that her party did not want to discuss the issue of religion and that this was not against churches or religious denominations. "A review requires the support of two-thirds of MPs, as well as the support of the other side, but we should discuss this," Mrak Taritaš said.

Under the agreement regulating cooperation in education and culture, and spiritual guidance, all public elementary and high schools as well as pre-schools have Catholic religious education and the education system must take into account the values of Christian ethics which is contrary to the Croatian Constitution and the fundamental idea that a pluralist, civic society cannot be submitted to demands and sanctions of a religious group, the GLAS and HSU groups said.

We believe that Catholic religious education belongs in the Church, Mrak Taritaš said.

Hungary is the only country that allocated more money to the Church than Croatia, she said adding that different countries have different models for Church financing – from Germany which has the so-called Church tax to the Netherlands where Church financing is on a voluntary basis.

More news on the Catholic Church in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.