Dear fellow citizens, dear members of our faiths,

We are witnessing a great and indescribably painful humanitarian crisis. Millions have been driven from their homes in Syria and Iraq. Many from Africa are also seeking safety in Europe. Harrowing images of refugees entering Macedonia and Serbia and then trying to enter the European Union through the Hungarian border are causing concern and anxiety.
The Republic of Croatia could soon be put to a great test. Therefore, we wish to encourage you so that all of us together will be able to do good. To accept refugees is the duty of every person. Pope Francis recently said that the rejection of refugees is nothing short of an act of war. Refugees are, in fact, our brothers and sisters who are seeking a home far from their homelands where they can live without fear. Let us not forget, dear fellow citizens, that human dignity must always be respected.
Let us recall, moreover, those sad war years when many of our people were in a similar predicament. Many countries and many good people helped us then. We urge, therefore, first of all the members of our faiths, to be humane and foster a culture of warmth and compassion, brotherhood and solidarity.
We, together with the Croatian authorities, civil associations and international organizations, will make the greatest effort to meet the needs of the refugees. We will place all our available resources at their disposal in order to show that we are people who know how to recognize their brothers and sisters in grave misfortune. Let us be united and open to their needs and difficulties, which remind us of the suffering and drama of humanity because these people are forced to live under difficult and degrading circumstances, without the opportunity to begin a life of dignity. Therefore, serving, accompanying and protecting them are imperatives at the present moment.
To serve actually means to empathize with their problems. First of all, it is necessary to treat them humanely, to demonstrate our closeness and solidarity with them. To serve refugees and displaced persons also means to accept their demands for justice and hope, and seek concrete paths of liberation together.
However, merely accepting refugees is not enough. The genuine charity that God grants us and teaches us demands justice and helping the poor find a way not to be poor, which requires meals and lodgings at reception centers. It also means accompanying refugees and displaced persons until they feel and experience that their rights to work and live a decent life have been recognized.
God calls us to generous and courageous acceptance under these challenging circumstances. We are aware that this is neither easy nor simple. Nevertheless, it is necessary to have courage. Indeed, we are already doing a lot but perhaps we may be called to do even more. Let us accept and share what God’s love has given us. Let us be close to the humble, especially the least and the endangered. People with big hearts and communities with solidarity are needed, who will manifest their love in concrete ways!
We are confident that this trial and effective love required of us now will make us better people and a better society. Thank you all for the goodness of your generous hearts and may God’s blessing follow you!

Msgr. Želimir Puljić, Archbishop of Zagreb and President of the Croatian Conference of Bishops
Dr. Porfirije Perić, Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Zagreb-Ljubljana Giorgio Grlj, President of the Protestant Evangelical Council
Luciano Moše Prelević, Rabbi of the Jewish Community Zagreb
Dr. Kotel Da Don, Rabbi of the Bet Israel Jewish Community in Zagreb
Mufti Dr. Aziz Hasanović, President of the Islamic Community of Croatia