Zagreb, (IKA) – The Justitia et Pax Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops has urged the faithful and all people of good will in the Republic of Croatia “starting on Sunday, March 4, 2012, to participate in the widespread campaign of the European Sunday Alliance, which unites labor unions, political parties, civic associations and Churches in the demand for respecting Sunday as day of rest for all, a day for families to be together, a day for voluntary, cultural and social activities and as the Day of the Lord that Christians celebrate and glorify.”
In the Call for Action, published on February 29, Bishop Košić, President of the Commission, stated that shopping on Sunday “is a form of hypocrisy and insensitivity toward the disenfranchised,” i.e., those who are forced to work instead of celebrating this holy day with their loved ones.
A human being is not merely a producer and consumer of goods and services. A person is a spiritual and social being who needs other people to be fulfilled. Before the onslaught of neoliberal greed, Sunday is also destroyed and “the private interests of the minority prevail over public benefits—health, social, family and spiritual—of the majority of citizens.” Citing articles from the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union from the Lisbon Treaty of the EU, the bishop asks whether anyone should be permitted to threaten Sunday, thereby jeopardizing safety, health, wellbeing and work-life balance.
“Finally, we do not shy away from the fact that with this appeal we are also fighting for the rights of all Christians—not only Catholics—to celebrate the Day of the Lord by attending Sunday Mass because Sunday was made for man, not man for Sunday,” concludes Bishop Košić in the Call to Action of the Justitia et Pax Commission.