Zagreb, (IKA) – The Justice and Peace Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops has issued a statement on intolerance toward Catholics in the Republic of Croatia. The article, signed by the President of the Commission, Bishop Vlado Košić of Sisak, is presented here in its entirety:

“The Commission voices its concern due to the increasingly frequent and overt expressions of intolerance and violence toward Catholics in Croatia. Intolerance toward Catholics and their religious beliefs is inherited from the era of communist totalitarianism, never completely disappeared and has recently intensified, particularly immediately before and after the visit by the Holy Father to the Republic of Croatia and Croatian Catholics. We regretfully conclude that the state authorities did not react adequately, ex-officio, to the open expressions of hostility toward Catholics in the same way that they reacted when the rights of other threatened communities and individuals were concerned. We believe that it is necessary to stop the practice of attacking and disparaging Catholics for their religion, way of life, religious beliefs and teachings, which are called regressive without any supporting argumentation. Therefore, we urge the government institutions to be unbiased and alert to the need to protect the dignity and right of Catholics to live their faith and declare their religious beliefs, as guaranteed to them by Croatian law.

“The Catholics in Croatia are not afraid of any public debate or criticism but cannot accept the tacit acceptance of their being disparaged without response from the competent institutions.

“The Commission urges all Croatian men and women to express their views publicly on various issues, and to know how to argue and frame them correctly. Public debate and the exchange of arguments with the Catholic position absolutely excludes the violation of human dignity, especially any violence, which we unequivocally condemn.

“In this statement, we have deliberately not used the expression “hate speech” because we consider this syntagma to be a neologism without content that certain groups use to justify their attacks on those who do not share their opinions.”