"Better to be a victim than a criminal!"

Vatican, March 14, 1996 (IKA) – The March 13 issue of the Vatican daily newspaper “L#!osservatore romano” published an interview with Archbishop Franjo Cardinal Kuharić of Zagreb on the current events in the Church among the Croats. The Cardinal#!s remarks included the following: “When the words #!forgiveness#! and #!reconciliation#! are spoken, it is necessary to bear in mind to whom they are said, under what circumstances these people live. What have they suffered? What have they lost? Do they have any hope after their terrible experiences?”
“It is completely different to speak about forgiveness and reconciliation to people who have not experienced injustice, who have not been the victims of violence. These words do not provoke any kind of agitation in their souls. These are ordinary words. They do not make them tremble.
If someone has not suffered anything and if he has nothing to forgive, then these words do not obligate him”.
“How should one speak about forgiveness to completely innocent people who, through no fault of their own, have been driven from their homes that they built with work and suffering? How do the words #!forgiveness#! and #!reconciliation#! sound to people who have remained without all their property and been forced into exile as homeless persons? How do those whose loved ones have been killed or those who have been subjected to vicious terror understand words about forgiveness? What are the thoughts of raped Iittle girls, teenagers, women, victims of ruthless violence, of whom there are thousands, when they hear that they have to forgive? How should one speak to refugees who have already lost any hope that they will be able to return to their homes?”.
“Only a person who sympathises with their suffering can speak to such people, who is close to them and a participant in their suffering. It is necessary to speak about forgiveness responsibly, entering into the psychology of these humiliated and disenfranchised people”.
“Throughout the entire war, we spoke out against hatred and the desire for vengeance. We spoke about forgiveness! In encounters with displaced persons, of whom 250,000 were expelled from the occupied territories in Croatia, I asked them questions: #!Which would you choose, to be in the situation of an innocent victim of violence or to be in the situation of an unjust oppressor, criminal? Would you rather be a victim or a criminal? To suffer injustice or inflict injustice on others#!. I received responses in eyes and often from lips: #!Better to be a victim than a criminal!#! Then I spoke to them about forgiveness and that it is not an empty word. Forgiveness is inner freedom from evil, from hatred and the desire for vengeance. Forgiveness is God#!s victory in the soul of the victim of violence. Forgiveness stops the flood of hatred. This can be asked of a believer only in the name of Jesus Christ. The call to forgiveness and reconciliation in the experience of grave injustices are not some sweet words that require no sacrifice. This is a call for Christian heroism! Forgiveness and reconciliation is a heroic act of faith for which only the Holy Spirit can supply strength. This is our experience. We have not observed evil from some comfortable distance but have met with people in the center of evil events and can understand them. I have heard so much testimony: #!I do not hate, I do not want revenge; I only want to return to my home! We pray for those who have done evil to us!#!”
“Therefore, in Croatia, the words #!forgiveness#! and #!reconciliation#! echo in the souls of the victims of violence as the weighty words of the Gospels that must be accepted with a heroic act of faith. The Holy Father John Paul 11 spoke in Zagreb on September 10 and 11, 1994 about forgiveness. He spoke on the experience of his nation and his personal experience. Millions of Croatian believers greeted his words with applause. Certainly, they are not all heroes. There are those who fell into the temptation of vengeance but such are individual cases. War in, inflicts horrible wounder upon souls!
“When discussing forgiveness, the question is asked: who should ask for forgiveness? For the victim#!s forgiveness, all those who inflicted violence should ask for it. Those who subjectively equated the victims with the aggressors should ask for forgiveness. Those who could have #!stopped the hand that killed#! but failed to do so, whose conduct supported the aggressors, share responsibility for the crimes and should also ask for forgiveness!”