ZAGREB, 17 April 2022 - Celebrating Easter mass on Sunday, the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, called on the faithful to stand ready to help, notably displaced persons from Ukraine, and said "the future does not belong to thugs."

We are called upon not to be closed in ourselves, to build a world of unity and solidarity against discouragement and selfishness, the cardinal said.

He recalled philosopher Max Horkheimer's statement that one should refuse to accept a reality according to which the executioner is always right in relation to his victim.

"The future does not belong to violence, that is the deep point of Easter," Bozanić said.

Today we are praying for all our needs, for the homeland, for world peace, and primarily for peace in Ukraine, he said, adding that peace is necessary to those attacked as well as to the attackers, and mostly to the instigators and commanders.

"Let's continue to stand ready to help charitably, notably in taking in the displaced. Our recent experience of war, suffering and exile strengthens our openness for generosity. We deeply believe that innocent victims will bring a blessing to those who in these weeks have been going through an ordeal unworthy of man."

Bozanić concluded his sermon by quoting the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, who said in the Zagreb Cathedral on 13 April 1941 that peace was one of Christ's most beautiful gifts after the resurrection. The relevance of his words is a strong message for our times, he said.

The mass was attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek, and Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman as well as, according to Bozanić, a group of refugees from Ukraine.

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ZAGREB, August 15, 2019 - The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, on Thursday served Mass in the Marian shrine of Marija Bistrica on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption, saying that the feast was a holiday of Christian joy, hope and future and that the Croatian Christian identity was deeply marked by Marian devotion.

The archbishop conducted the religious service, the central event celebrating the Feast of the Assumption, in front of several thousand believers who came to Marija Bistrica for the occasion.

"By (coming here) we live and confirm the centuries-old tradition of Croatian believers. This calm, holy nation, as Pope Francis described it, has its face, its history, its identity and mission," Bozanić said, stressing that Marian devotion had deeply marked the identity of Croatian Christianity.

In his sermon, Bozanić also spoke about the importance of promoting the family as a holy institution as well as the importance of Christian patriotism.

"Christian patriotism... includes full responsibility for the well-being of the people and every citizen, for stronger institutions, for cultural heritage and language," he said, adding that Christian patriotism also encouraged unity, mutual respect and forgiveness, and sympathy with those in need.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Wednesday visited the Marian shrine near Teslić in central Bosnia, where she attended Mass as a believer along with a large number of other pilgrims.

The religious service was conducted by the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić, who before the service held talks with Grabar-Kitarović behind closed doors.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday participated in a procession on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption in the Marian shrine of Sinj, where around 100,000 pilgrims were expected to arrive during the day.

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

ZAGREB, December 19, 2018 - The Archbishop of Zagreb and head of the Catholic Church in Croatia, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, says in his Christmas message that it is parents who are expected to show their unequivocal standpoints and to help, through their Christian way of life, institutions in Croatian society draw up educational programmes for their children, underlining that educational and upbringing programmes and goals must not be in contravention with fundamental family values and that it is parents who have precedence over others when it comes to responsibilities and rights in bringing up their children.

In his message, he underlines that each man and each family has their special place in God's plans and warns that "in the current times of various reforms", it is crucial not to leave children and youth unattended on their life journeys.

If parents fail to assume this duty to care for them, many will try to step in, removing children from God and from the inherited cultural identity, offering them a deceptively shining world with void and anguish as consequences, the cardinal says.

"If upbringing and education prepare children and youth for the future life, and it is supposed to be that way, their implementation should then include all relevant institutions: the family, pre-school institutions, the society, the Church and cultural institutions," he says.

Recalling the warning by Pope John Paul II about the separation between the family and the society and between the family and the school, the Zagreb Archbishop says that it is parents who have priority when it comes to the rights and responsibilities in bringing up children. Therefore, it is important and desirable that the voice of parents be heard more strongly and more frequently in the ongoing school reform in Croatia, notably with regard to goals, contents and school textbooks, he added.

Facing the present-day challenges in bringing up children coming from the more and more globalised culture and society, mass media and new technologies, no one can be self-sufficient in preparing educational programmes, as the general welfare of the national community and future generations is at stake, he says.

The human being has primacy over knowledge, information, tools and competences. Man does not live only to be trained for the labour market. The life of every human being is more elevated, and being prepared for life is more demanding, he says.

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

ZAGREB, August 15, 2018 - Celebrating Feast of the Assumption mass in the national Marian shrine at Marija Bistrica on Wednesday, the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, addressed young people in particular, urging them not to settle for mediocrity but to bravely and persistently demand "the so eagerly anticipated changes in Croatian society."

Major changes are allegedly coming to the Catholic Church in Croatia.

The favourite Croatian saint leaving Croatia today.

A large number of people welcomed the body at the Zagreb Cathedral.