Zagreb, March 13, 1997 (IKA) – Prior to the conclusion of the spring session of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Bishops Marin Srakić, Želimir Puljić and Josip Bozanić held a press conference on March 13 at which they informed the assembled journalists about the principal topics discussed at the session. The bishops acquainted the journalists with the content of the Message from the Croatian Bishops Concerning This Year#!s Elections and the Message from the Catholic Bishops in the Republic of Croatia Concerning the Safeguarding of Human Life. “We urge the faithful, as citizens of this country, to evaluate a candidate#!s suitability, to exercise not only their rights but their civil duty to vote in the elections, and choose responsibly and conscientiously the political program they believe to be the best. We should like to see candidates elected who will promote life in our society in accordance with the Christian concepts of the person, family, society, nation and state. We urge the candidates listed on the ballots to use the campaign period to win votes on the basis of the strength of their actual programs and arguments, respecting the human dignity of their political opponents,” recommended the bishops concerning the elections. According to Bishop Marin Srakic of akovo-Srijem, during the session the bishops had also discussed the Pope#!s visit to Sarajevo and decided that the bishops from the Republic of Croatia will go to meet the Pope in order to express their solidarity with the Catholic Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina and deliver a special message from the faithful in Croatia. The bishops expressed surprise at the decision to conduct the elections in the Republic of Croatia on the same day that Pope John Paul II will arrive in Sarajevo but hope that a compromise will be found between going to meet the Holy Father and voting. In presenting the Message Concerning the Safeguarding of Human Life, Bishop Želimir Puljić of Dubrovnik, chairman of the Council of the Croatian Conference of Bishops for the Family, pointed out that the bishops had promoted peace and human rights during the war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and have ceaselessly emphasized that human life is blessed and consecrated. In the bishops#! message, they seek legal and other preventive measures to safeguard human life from conception to a natural death, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia.
At the press conference, Bishop Puljić also spoke about a document in preparation about Sunday the Lord#!s Day, confirmed the decision to establish a Center for Promoting the Social Teachings of the Church, and spoke about the establishment of a new diocese in Lika that was supported by priests from the terrain and the assembled bishops. Bishop Bozanić informed the journalists that there had also been discussion at the session about the practical implementation of the contract between the Republic of Croatia and the Holy See. He said that the critics of the contract are generally not well acquainted with its text or the common practices in Western European countries regarding the regulation of questions between the Church and state. The bishop also pointed out that such a contract neither abolishes nor alters the Religious Communities Act in the Republic of Croatia, and the Catholic Church hopes that if this act is passed, it will not be merely a retouched law from the communist era.