From October 21 to 23, 2014, the 49th Plenary Session of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, chaired by Msgr. Želimir Puljić, Archbishop of Zadar and President of the CCB, was held at the headquarters of the Croatian Conference of Bishops in Zagreb. In addition to the members of the CCB, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Croatia, Archbishop Alessandro D’Errico; the delegate from the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Military Ordinary Bishop Tomo Vukšić; Bishop Ivan Penzeš of Subotica and Bishop Đuro Gašparović of Srijem participated.

Welcoming the attendees, Archbishop Puljić presented the main topics of the session and mentioned two anniversaries: 100 years since the beginning of the First World War and 50 years since Pope Paul VI declared St. Benedict the patron saint of Europe on October 24, 1964. On the occasion of the anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, Pope Francis visited Redipuglia in northern Italy where many people perished, including numerous Croats. The Pope did not speak about blame for the war but about the evil of war in general and the strategy of destruction, calling war madness and pointing out that even today wars are being waged at the national level in the world.

During the working part of the session, the bishops became acquainted with the preparations and program of the Second National Croatian Catholic Family Encounter, which will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2015, in the shrine of Our Lady of Trsat in Rijeka with the theme “Family! The Bearer of the Life, Hope and Future of Croatia.” The encounter program will begin on Saturday, April 18, 2015, with a vigil in which families from the Rijeka Metropolis and other dioceses will participate. Prior to the central celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday, there will be a program consisting of testimonies by families, prayers and songs.

Thirty years ago, in 1984, the National Eucharistic Congress was held in Marija Bistrica as the culmination of the nine-year celebration of Thirteen Centuries of Christianity among the Croats (1976–1984). This event had a strong impact on the life of our Church and the society in general. Credit for the success of this pastoral project goes to the priests of the Church among the Croats, bishops, pastors and catechists, who amidst the complex circumstances of the communist regime successfully realized several programs that were common priorities. Remembering the National Eucharist Congress of three decades ago, the bishops discussed how to choose strategic pastoral priorities in the current ministry.

The bishops were familiarized with the currents and conclusions of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization, which was held in Rome from October 5 to 19. The conclusions from the Extraordinary Synod will serve as a preparatory document for the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod on the Family, which will be held in October of next year.

The session also included a presentation of the apostolic letter Apostolos suos by St. John Paul II, in which the theological and legal nature of bishops’ conferences is discussed.

Reports were submitted on the activities of individual bodies of the CCB. Among other things, it was pointed out that Caritas Croatia, in cooperation with the diocesan branches of Caritas, collected over 8 million HRK for aid to the victims of the flooding in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. The amount of support provided by the Church is actually much greater than this because individual dioceses, local branches of Caritas, religious institutions and parishes donated funds and goods directly to the victims. Moreover, the bishops of the Croatian Conference of Bishops donated 12 million HRK to the victims at the previous session.

A message from the Croatian bishops on gender theory entitled “Male and Female He Created Them!” was issued. The message is based on the biblical-Christian anthropological concept of the person, body and sexuality, with particular attention to gender theory, and starts from Christ’s commandment for the Church to preach the gospel to all creation, taking into account the challenges with which the Church is constantly confronted in this task of proclaiming the gospel. On the one side, there is always the challenge of the inculturation of the gospel and, on the other, the need for the critical assessment of the culture. In this letter, the bishops warn of the new philosophy of sexuality, which denies the nature that a person receives at birth. The best response to the challenges of the new ideology is authentically proclaiming and witnessing the gospel in one’s own life.

The Bylaws of the Croatian Catholic Network, the central media institution of the CCB, were accepted, which will join forces with Croatian Catholic Radio, the Catholic Press Agency—IKA, the Press Office of the CCB and a department that will deal with new media.

The bishops also discussed the mandates in individual bodies of the CCB. Since Msgr. Vlado Košić had served two consecutive mandates as the president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the CCB, Bishop Vjekoslav Huzjak of Bjelovar-Križevci was appointed as the new president.

As part of the Year of Consecrated Life proclaimed by Pope Francis, a meeting of persons consecrated to God is planned in Marija Bistrica on March 14, 2015.

At the plenary session, a calendar of sessions and important meetings for the next year was prepared. The Joint Session of the Bishops from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be held on January 26, 2015, in Zagreb. The Special Session of the CCB will be held on January 28, 2015, and the Regular Spring Plenary Session of the CCB will be from April 14 to 16, 2015. The Meeting of the Bishops of the CCB with Religious Superiors is planned for June 9, 2015, and the Autumn Regular Plenary session of the CCB will be held from October 27 to 29, 2015.
Secretariat of the CCB