Bleiburg, (IKA) – On May 16, a Mass concelebrated at the field of Bleiburg, Austria, on the occasion of the seventieth commemoration of the massacre of the Bleiburg victims and other torments known collectively as the Way of the Cross, was led by the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić. The commemoration was organized by the Bleiburg Honor Guard and the liturgy was organized on behalf of the Croatian Conference of Bishops and the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Directorate of Pastoral Ministry for Croats Abroad, headed by its director, Dr. Tomislav Markić, who greeted the thousands of pilgrims assembled.
In the homily, Cardinal Bozanić noted that these days Europe and the world are commemorating the seventieth anniversary of the end of the great sufferings of World War II. Although in 1945 there was liberation from totalitarian ideologies of evil for the countries of Western Europe, in Croatia, as well as in some other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, “there was the replacement of one regime by another, one totalitarian government by another, and Nazi fascism by communism. Unlike other countries, to which the end of World War II restored freedom and democracy, for us the seizure of power by the communist totalitarian system signified a new beginning of the persecution, imprisonment and the killing of innocent people. Here are the pits and karstic sinkholes (foibe), which were not allowed to be mentioned, as well as the already known and still unknown and unexplored mass graves and grave sites. The persecution and removal of persons considered unsuitable to the regime, especially the intelligentsia who did not share the Marxist ideology, the purging of those who were or could become obstacles to the communist regime, the drastic violations of fundamental human rights and the trampling of the dignity of human beings marked, to a greater or lesser extent, the period of the regime in Croatia that only collapsed in 1990.” Cardinal Bozanić added that especially in some parts of Croatia, such as, for example, Istria, the Croatian Littoral and Dalmatia, the patriotic antifascist resistance by the masses in World War II, which was responsible for the liberation of national territory in this part of Croatia, was also misappropriated by the communists in order to win power, as well as for the implementation of the Marxist revolution. There are many examples of the same people, especially Catholic priests and lay faithful, who suffered during the war and were persecuted by fascists, and after the war by communists, said the cardinal, specifically mentioning the Blessed Miroslav Bulešić, an Istrian priest and martyr of communism, who was killed in Lanišće on August 24, 1947.

The Archbishop of Zagreb cautioned that in our homeland, “particularly in recent years, there has been the desire to revive the conflicts and the old ideological divisions, previously believed to have been partially overcome. Hatred is being incited, intolerance and exclusivity are imposed. Namely, it seems that it is in someone’s interest to intensify untruths in order to prolong the conflict and violence from the time of totalitarianism. In contrast to the patriotic antifascist resistance during World War II, today there is a new ideology of antifascism with discourse from the 1950s, which we are encountering in modern times in other European countries. Allegations of some kind of fascization of Croatia feed this ideology and provide an opportunity for its promoters to represent themselves as combatting these purported phenomena, thereby concealing the true nature of their activities and preventing the Croatian society from growing in freedom, unity and coexistence, in the desire for progress, justice and peace with the elimination of all totalitarianism.”
The cardinal emphasized that for the modern, peaceful and harmonious development of the Croatian society, a shift away from and elimination of the ideologies of evil of the twentieth century—fascism, Nazism and communism—are needed and said: “Let us leave history to the historians, without fear of the truth, because ideologies are afraid of the truth and protect themselves with the lies of propaganda. Let us not allow even the seeds of the new ideologies of antifascism and anticommunism to bring new old divisions into our daily lives. As believers, we are called, in faithfulness to the gospel, to testify to the always new way of unity.”
“Today we are assembled on this field where, after the end of World War II, 70 years ago, on May 15, 1945, the “Bleiburg tragedy” of the Croatian nation began, a crime against humanity that was systematically perpetrated by the Yugoslav Army under the emblem of the five-pointed red star. On this field began the Way of the Cross, which was continued in columns of death, unexplored pits and notorious camps; all without courts, witnesses or verdicts, with the goal of suppressing any mention or trace of the graves. It was not permitted to speak or write about any of this from 1945 and during the subsequent 45 years until the democratic changes in our country. There was a strictly specified damnatio memoriae—condemnation to oblivion, said the cardinal and added: “Until the fall of the communist regime, Bleiburg remained a place where it was, nevertheless, possible to speak about the victims and organize a memorial to the systematic mass slaughter of Croats and members of other ethnic groups that began on this field, and continued at various known and unknown places of execution from Slovenia to Vukovar and Dubrovnik, and beyond. Therefore, the Bleiburg gathering and Bleiburg memorial have special significance today. They bear witness to a time that imposed silence, trampled memory, spread fear and punished remembrance.”
“Also today, Bleiburg testifies to the fear that crept in and spread. Many were afraid, especially, so it seems, the commanders and perpetrators of terrible crimes. Therefore, a radical obliteration of memory and the spread of lies through systematic propaganda were introduced. However, Jesus tells us: ‘The truth will set you free,'” said Cardinal Bozanić and continued: “In this place as the Archbishop of Zagreb, I ask: Are we afraid of the truth? Are there ruling powers in Croatia that do not want the truth to come to light? How else is it possible to explain the negligence by the state institutions in regard to arriving at the fullest possible truth about all the victims of the war and postwar period; investigating all the pits, mass graves and places of execution; properly marking them all, so that all the victims, regardless of ethnicity or religion, and regardless of on which side or without a side they fell, would be guaranteed principled piety? ”

The cardinal stressed the need to list all the victims of the totalitarian ideologies of evil to the extent possible, without fearing the truth about which side had the larger number of casualties. “In our country, soaked in blood, it is important to seek the truth so that we shall not be locked in the past and constantly exposed to incited hatred, upon which ideologies of evil feed. We expect the Croatian institutions and individuals able to do so to promote the systematic disclosure of the truth. The truth will undoubtedly reveal the consequences of the crimes but will allow hope to speak, without which the future is closed,” said Cardinal Bozanić.
He warned that our current starting point “should not be in the ideological conflicts of World War II, since these conflicts defeated one type of inhumane ideology but left another type of inhumane ideology alive in our homeland. For us, the starting point is younger and firmer, in the values of democracy and unity that were manifested in the defense of Croatia during the Homeland War.” He urged believers to see the Bleiburg field with their hearts as believers because “here, before us, where death left deep tracks, is the eloquent message of hope.” Hope, illuminated by Christ’s sacrifice, speaks of God revealed in this same suffering and God’s mercy. The cardinal also stressed the powerful appeal by the Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac for forgiveness and reconciliation, which he confirmed by his martyred life and death, and St. John Paul II’s words in Marija Bistrica on October 3, 1998: “To forgive and reconcile mean to cleanse the memory of hatred, discord and the desire for revenge; it means to recognize even someone who has wronged us as a brother, it means not to allow evil to conquer us but to overcome evil with good. ”
“We were not brought here by evil, fear or persecution. We are not driven by political motives but we are here as children of the same merciful Father, who urged us to unity, to prayer in rejoicing that death does not have the last word, and to the truth resonating in our yearning for those values that transcend transience. We did not come here today to go back to the past and remain there but to pray for our homeland, for our families, children and young people. Only in this way shall we become more sensitive in the commitment to the truth that liberates,” said Cardinal Bozanić.

In the introductory part of the commemoration program, Cardinal Bozanić led prayer for absolution at the Unterloibach cemetery, from which a procession set off to the altar area at the Bleiburg field where a preliminary program of prayer was conducted by Friar Ivica Vrbić, OFM Cap. The memorial commemoration was enhanced by the men’s choir of the Zagreb Cathedral, conducted by Maestro Miroslav Martinjak, with organ accompaniment provided by Neven Kraljić. In the continuation of the commemoration, prayer for victims who were of the Islamic faith was led by Mufti Aziz Hasanović, Ph.D. There were also speeches and the laying of wreaths at the memorial. The commemoration was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, and the Croatian Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Dragan Čović.