Pursuant to the international contract on economic matters between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia dated October 9, 1998, in which there is recognition of the valuable work by the Catholic Church benefiting the society in general and serving the citizens in the fields of culture, education and ethics, every year the Catholic Church in Croatia receives a certain sum from the state budget. Pursuant to the contract, it is stipulated that the funds are to be used for three purposes: supporting the clergy and other church officials, the construction and maintenance of church and pastoral centers that are not on the list of cultural monuments, and charitable activity.

Respecting the provisions of the aforementioned contract and taking the gravity of the current economic and social situation into account, the Croatian Conference of Bishops, subsequent to consultations with the Holy See, the Ministry of Finance and the Government of the Republic of Croatia, has decided to contribute 50 million kunas for overcoming the current crisis from the funds allocated to it by the state budget for this year (283 million kunas).

Thus far, the Church has used a large percentage of the funds obtained from the state budget for charitable purposes. Particularly today in the current grave economic situation, via Caritas the Church will continue to help and be close to those who are particularly afflicted by the crisis and are most in need of assistance.

Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops