Zagreb, November 18, 1999 (IKA) — Today in the Palace of the Archbishop in Zagreb, Cardinal Franjo Kuharić received a group of Croats from the parish of Pinkovac in Burgenland, Austria, led by their parish priest, the Rev. Ivan Janoš, and Mayor Leo Radaković. At the beginning of the meeting, the mayor and priest greeted Cardinal Kuharić, conveying an invitation for him to visit their Croatian parish in Burgenland that was established in 1930. They also presented him with gifts. During the meeting, the cardinal and his guests reminisced about the cardinal’s friend from Pinkovac with whom he attended the seminary, Kazimir Herceg, who disappeared during the Second World War on the eastern front near Stalingrad. At the beginning of Cardinal Kuharić’s remarks to his guests, he said that he remembered his school days and friendship with Kazimir Herceg, and that this friendship remains “unforgettable, sincere and lasting” in his memory. He reminisced about those who had fallen during the Second World War, as well as afterwards during the communist regime, particularly the priests in Croatian regions. He made particular reference to the martyred Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, a champion “of the rights and freedom of the individual and a warrior against totalitarian ideologies.” Cardinal Kuharić told his guests from Pinkovac to preserve their language, customs and faith, which their grandfathers brought to Burgenland. He also expressed his gratitude for the assistance that Austrians provided Croatia during the recent war, with particular reference to the former Austrian minister of foreign affairs Alois Mock, who showed himself to be “a sincere friend of Croatia, lending his support on the international level for the right of the Croatian nation to have its own state.” Cardinal Kuharić promised to visit their parish next spring. He presented the Croats from Pinkovac with a book on the life and works of the blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac of Croatia.