Zagreb (IKA) – Our Second Synod of the Zagreb Archdiocese is intended to strengthen the involvement of the faithful in the Church, announced the archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, at a press conference held on January 20th at the Zagreb cathedral, at which Synod preparations and topics to be discussed this year in the parishes of the archdiocese were presented. The Second Synod of the Zagreb Archdiocese was announced by Cardinal Josip Bozanić in the year 2002 on the feast of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, February 10. In the autumn of that year, archdiocesan workshops were begun which are entering their final phase this year. When the preparations are completed, the Synod will occur in the true sense of the word. The First Synod of the Zagreb Archdiocese was held in the year 1925. After the Second Vatican Council, lay faithful became equal participants in synods.

Asking what is the Church, a question that was also posed at the Second Vatican Council, the cardinal said that this question is always current and today it can be asked in our Croatian society. What is the Church per se? How do the faithful experience it? What is the Church in relation to the world, in its encounter with the world? How does the Church in Croatia present itself in dialogue with the modern world? How do the media present the Church? These are some of the questions that the cardinal offered for deliberation, commenting that after reading some of the articles about the Church and meeting with the faithful in parishes, he has the impression that there are two Churches: the living Church and the other one in the media. He said that it is important for the Church to be composed of the two elements of one divinity, eternity and humanity that is subjugated to human challenges. Speaking about the preparations for the Synod, the cardinal pointed out the importance for priests, religious and the lay faithful to think about the Church together, i.e. the task of the Zagreb Church in these times.

Speaking about the Second Synod that is currently the largest undertaking in the archdiocese, the general secretary for the preparatory period of the Synod, Dr. Tomislav Markić, presented the basic characteristics of the Synod, a brief review of the Synod preparations, and the seventeen thematic areas that will be discussed in the parishes and other religious communities in the Zagreb Archdiocese during the final phase of the Archdiocesan workshops. The preparations for the Synod began in autumn 2002. Animation for the Synod has taken place at several levels. The undertaking of the Synod has been presented to priests, religious, theological students, members of Church movements and religious associations, catechists, members of parish councils and representatives of youth organizations. During Lent of 2003, the Zagreb bishops issued a Pastoral Letter on the Second Synod, inviting all the faithful to participate actively in the process of the Archdiocesan workshops: prayer, deliberation, discussion and proposals. There were numerous lectures, presentations, discussions, spiritual renewals and encounters of the faithful, at which the Synod was discussed. Besides animation of the Synod, an important part of the preparations is the process of the Archdiocesan workshops, with the goal of including the largest possible circle of the faithful in identifying the questions that the future Synod should discuss. The faithful were sent a total of 1,761 documents with approximately 7,000 individual proposals classified into 17 thematic areas: Announcement, Liturgy, Caritas, the Place and Task of the Parish in the Church and Society, Pastoral Work with Married Couples and the Family, Ordained Officials, Consecrated Life, the Role and Place of the Instructor and Catechist in the Life of the Zagreb Church, Lay Faithful in the Church and World, Young Persons, Ecumenicism and Inter-Religious Dialogue, the Social Dialogue of the Church, Media; the Church — Culture, Science and Art; the Organization of the Archdiocesan Community, Schools and Institutions of Higher Learning; and the Material Goods of the Church. A study group has been formed around each topic with the task of preparing working lists for discussion in communities of the faithful. The study groups completed their work in September 2005 and the Editorial Commission for the Standardization of the Working Lists adopted 123 working lists that were submitted to communities of the faithful for discussion. Thus began the second part of the archdiocesan workshops, during which the participants of the pre-Synod discussions will be able to present their proposals and desires in questions regarding the material offered. Pre-Synod discussions in the communities of the faithful will continue during the year 2006.

The head of the Study Group on the Lay Faithful in the Church and World, Stjepan Lice, and the secretary of the Editorial Commission for the Preparation of the Working Lists and Animator of the Synod, Mirjana Anđić, spoke about the importance of the participation of the lay faithful in the preparation for the Synod. Lice said that the Synod is an important event for the Church and society, and will be even more significant if it does not remain at the superficial level, i.e. if deals with that which is important, primarily our relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the first time that Christ’s lay faithful have been included in the Synod, he said, commenting: “I dare to believe that this Synod will particularly affect the lay faithful, who comprise 90% of the Church.” “No one can answer the question for us on whether we experience our Christianity as merely an outward manifestation or if it determines us existentially,” explained Mirjana Anđić, who presented concrete data on the participation of lay faithful in the Synod preparations. Among the proposals that have arrived, 1,536 or 87.4% were submitted by the laity. Of the 17 study centers, four were conducted by laity and 57 members of the study groups were laity. Lay persons were also included in the Synod animation. Out of the 1,951 animators, 1,536 are lay persons. For the formation of the animators, 44 seminars have been organized exclusively for lay persons.