Rijeka, (IKA) – As part of the commemoration of Pope John Paul II Day, organized on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II to the Shrine of Our Lady of Trsat, on Thursday, June 5, Archbishop Cardinal Josip Bozanić of Zagreb blessed the John Paul II Assembly Hall of the Pastoral Center of the shrine. The building contractor for the assembly hall was G.P. Krk and the author of the project was the Randić-Turato Architectural Studio. Franciscans from Trsat, led by Fra Serafin Sabol, implemented the project of the construction of the pastoral center, which is a permanent memorial to the pontifical pilgrim to Trsat and will be an important place for pastoral assembly in the spirit of the Pope’s messages. Following the blessing, Cardinal Bozanić led Mass in the Shrine of Our Lady of Trsat, together with the apostolic nuncio, Mario Roberto Cassari; the archbishop of Rijeka, Ivan Devčić, bishops of the Croatian Conference of Bishops and priests. During the homily, the cardinal recalled the messages that John Paul II delivered on his third visit to Croatia in the year 2003. From Dubrovnik, Osijek, Rijeka and Zadar, the Pope’s words, said the cardinal, returned us to the values that Christianity in our Homeland has always promoted: the dignity of the person, moral and intellectual integrity, religious freedom, defense of the family, acceptance of and respect for life, solidarity, competence and participation, and respect for minorities.” He also urged all responsible persons “‘not to tire of healing the wounds caused by the cruel war and to eradicate the repercussions of the totalitarian system, which for too long attempted to impose an ideology contrary to the person and his dignity,'” emphasized the cardinal. Although these messages are still fresh in memory, Cardinal Bozanić noted that they have not taken root among Croatian citizens. “There is too much careless talk about Christian values in our society, because many times we do not see them precisely where they must exist in order for reference to them to have meaning. If we love Christ and the gospel, if we respect the Holy Father, this should be evident in our laws, culture, science and education. These values should be imbued in the economy and politics. In such an atmosphere, it would be necessary to build and recognize the truth in the work of those who are the bearers of the fate of the authorities,” said Cardinal Bozanić.
The cardinal also referred to the image of the Church in the media. “In recent months, we, pastors of the Church in Croatia have often been confronted by questions from the faithful concerning why there are so much defamation and so many lies in the Croatian media against the Church. The response comes from the choice of the person who does not want to belong to the nation of hope, who does not want to be a bearer of the truth of God. However, the answer is also in us, because we are parts of this society, participants in its events and I could ask why we believers are not sufficiently loud and why we permit that which we know is for the good of our homeland to be so casually insulted, and that the truth is different from the lies that are being asserted?” asked Cardinal Bozanić.
He cautioned the faithful not to believe those “who, since they cannot negate the Pope’s greatness, now intentionally create the impression of compliance with everything that the Holy Father said, often distorting the past in order to challenge the present. We do not in any way forget the attacks against Catholic doctrine, nor do we forget the people who unscrupulously have attacked that which is holy to us and who have crudely insulted the pontificate and the magisterium of the Church, particularly during the time of the pontificate of John Paul II. This is their life choice which, although we do not share it, we respect, but we must not allow ourselves to be deceived by today’s smooth talk which in its depths is untrue,” said Cardinal Bozanić. At the end of the homily, he expressed the hope that we shall soon honor John Paul II as a beatus and a saint, and we are already permitted to call him “the Pope of Croatian hope.”
Prior to the blessing, Archbishop Devčić and Nuncio Cassari addressed those assembled. The archbishop, in addition to thanking the Franciscans for building the pastoral center, noted that the assembly hall is already the fourth public memorial to John Paul II in Rijeka. The theological seminary in which he spent five days has also been named for him, his statute has been placed before the Trsat shrine, and in the center of the city, next to the Archdiocesan Ordinariate, a street has been named after him. “A fitting monument is also anticipated on the Delta, where on June 8, 2003, he led Mass on Pentecost which was broadcast by many television stations throughout the world,” said Archbishop Devčić.
“However, we can erect a monument more lasting than brass to the Servant of God John Paul II by adopting those values for which he gave lively testimony through word and deed. These are the values of faith, hope and love, which he bore deep in his heart and transmitted to many people who met him. They streamed out of him so powerfully that people meeting him felt that what they had previously thought was impossible was possible. They felt that a genuine encounter with God was possible, that Christ can truly transform a person, that illness and old age have their meaning, that the value of a person does not depend on what he has but on what he is. They saw that marriage, as a union of a man and woman based on love and fidelity to death, is also possible and meaningful today, that the family is truly the fundamental value upon which the future of humankind depends. They became convinced that patient dialogue can achieve more than arguments of force, that another can be appreciated and valued, even when we do not agree with him about everything. It became clear to them that dialogue between religions and philosophies is possible, that people of different convictions can, despite differences, successfully work together. They discovered that it is possible to forgive and become reconciled,” said Archbishop Devčić.
Nuncio Cassari, on his first visit to the Rijeka Archdiocese and the Trsat shrine, recalled the Pope’s appeal to the faithful to build the Kingdom of God in life, the family, the workplace and the society.