Rakovica, (IKA) – On the feast of St. Helena of the Cross, August 18, the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, led the celebration of a Mass in Rakovica commemorating the national celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan. The Mass was concelebrated by approximately twenty priests together with the President of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Želimir Puljić of Zadar, Archbishop Ivan Devčić of Rijeka, Archbishop Ante Ivas of Šibenik and Bishop Mile Bogović of Gospić-Senj, who was also the host bishop.

“We have found ourselves here because the patron saint of the Parish of Rakovica is St. Helena of the Cross, the mother of Emperor Constantine, who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that granted freedom to the Church,” explained Bishop Bogović. “The feast of St. Helena of the Cross has prompted us to include organizations that work to safeguard Christian families and marriage. It is not too much to expect the European person to be defended in his Christian and human dignity in our European region. Rakovica is known for the revolt that was launched here for the freedom of our national family. May it also become known for the initiative to defend the person and every human family. Faithful Croatian nation, help Europe to go forward in harmony with its Christian roots, lest it abandon the victorious Cross of Christ,” said Bishop Bogović.

In the homily, Cardinal Bozanić noted that we celebrate “a great women of holy memory,” as St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, called her. Looking back on St. Helena’s life, Cardinal Bozanić noted that she became a Christian in the year 312 and was a model of Christian virtues and charity to the needy. Speaking about her in the light of the Mass readings, the Cardinal emphasized the special role of women in Christianity.

Furthermore, the Cardinal spoke about the significance of the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, which began a new historical period, not only for Christianity but for humanity. This legal act not only ended centuries of persecutions of Christians but signified the adoption of the principle of freedom of religion, said the Cardinal. He explained that it was not an act of tolerance but of the equality of all religions. “We can say that with the Edict of Milan, for the first time in history two dimensions of crucial importance for the organization of societies and political communities come to the fore, which are religious freedom and the secularism of the state,” said the Cardinal.
“The cross of Christ is the sole sign of our victory. As individuals and as a nation, we have felt and experienced this so many times in our Croatian history. This was clearly felt by the people of this place and the Slunj region, especially during the Second World War and the Homeland War. Without the wisdom of the cross and without the love of Christ, a person cannot accept evangelical challenges. Love can only be borne by love, which is its cross. The wisdom of the cross places God first. Our daily cross through Christ becomes a daily outlook of love, hope and faith,” said Cardinal. Bozanić, and noted that as we are in the Year of Faith, “we are called to see the cross as a gift that has been given so that we may believe that nothing happens that is outside of God’s hands, in order for Christ to attract us ever more strongly. Specifically, the wisdom of the cross directs us to celebrate the victory of love over hatred, forgiveness over revenge, service over domination, humility over pride, and unity over division. Today’s feast day calls us not to be afraid of the truth, to preserve the purity of the faith and persevere in charitable zeal,” said the Cardinal.
In the continuation of the homily, speaking about how religious freedom is the source of moral freedom, the Cardinal said: “Openness to truth and the good, openness to God, are rooted in human nature, afford full human dignity to each person and guarantee mutual respect for one another.
“Therefore, viewed from a historical perspective, we can say that the Edict of Milan is the beginning of a process that has not been completed. The events that followed were the basis for a history full of highs and lows, relationships of cooperation, misunderstandings and tensions between politics and religion. In all of this, we can see that in individual historical periods, there was respect and the exercise of religious freedom. Looking at our Croatian reality, we could say that God has led the Church among the Croatian nation to a deeper understanding of our history that we may more realistically perceive the present in which we live. Looking up at the cross of Christ, in a constant relationship with the living and present Christ, opening our hearts and minds to him in personal and community prayer, we learn to see things in a new way and understand their true meaning. As believers, individually and as the Church, we must not remain merely active observers but must also be responsible in our actions. Commitment to religious freedom in our country is commitment to the person, his dignity, as well as genuine democracy in society and the state,” said Cardinal Bozanić. “Civil initiatives that promote the constitutional right of parents to decide independently on the upbringing of their children, as well as those who advocate the protection of marriage as an institution between one man and one women, help those responsible in the state and society, while respecting the traditions of the Croatian nation, to take concrete steps in the implementation of the law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All of this is in the service of the person and promotes the development of democratic processes in the Croatian society,” said the Archbishop of Zagreb in his homily.

At the end of the celebration of the Mass, the President of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Želimir Puljić, presented an oil lamp dating from the time of Emperor Constantine that was found in the area around Sisak to bicyclists to be taken to Milan in order to link the national celebration of the anniversary of the Edict of Milan with Milan. Archbishop Ivan Devčić of Rijeka presented certificates of appreciation to the lay organizations who participated in the celebration of the Mass.