Zagreb, (IKA) – At a meeting held on April 2 at the Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops in Zagreb, the head of Caritas Croatia, Ivan Milovčić, M.S., and the heads of nearly all the (arch)diocesan branches of Caritas in Croatia discussed how Caritas can respond to the crisis afflicting the country and decided to intensify their activities.

In a statement following the meeting, Milovčić estimated that the needs of people today for assistance are greater than a year ago. He said that first of all the Caritas network should be strengthened. There had been discussion on how to establish parish branches of Caritas where they still do not exist. Several former projects should be revived and supported, such as the education of animators and volunteers for parish branches of Caritas. The network of family counseling centers should be strengthened. At the meeting, there was also discussion about how the diocesan branches of Caritas could cooperate and provide services to each other.

Caritas funds that are already active were also mentioned, particularly the fund for collecting contributions during the Christmas campaign, “For 1,000 Joys.” Up to now, contributions have only been collected for this fund during the Christmas season but now they want to make it possible for donors to contribute to it throughout the entire year, from which assistance could be allocated at the request of parish and diocesan branches of Caritas to needy families in Croatia. Caritas Croatia also has an intervention fund intended to provide emergency assistance in Croatia and other countries. In the coming period, the money from this fund will be more directed to meeting the needs of families in Croatia, and to a lesser extent than previously to foreign countries. According to Fr. Milovčić, Caritas Croatia has a limited amount of money available. He appealed to interested donors and the public to contribute to these funds, from which those in need will be able to receive assistance.

The head of Caritas Zadar, Ivica Jurišić, said that during the past three months they had experienced a 20 percent increase in requests for social assistance and had increased their contribution by the same percentage. The head of Caritas Varaždin, Ante Šola, said that during the past two months they had increased the resources of the soup kitchen, the Caritas pharmacy, homes for the aged, homes for disabled children, and the department for food articles, where the flow of people is between 15 and 20 percent greater than before. He said that the situation in the Varaždin Diocese is under control for now but they want to be prepared for new pressures. The head of Caritas Zagreb, Sister Jelena Lončar, announced that they plan to inaugurate SOS stores. She added that the structure of Caritas beneficiaries in the Zagreb Archdiocese has expanded, no longer consisting only of marginal cases but also people with relatively good incomes who have incurred various debts, can no longer meet their own needs and, therefore, seek assistance from Caritas. In addition to financial and material assistance, requests for legal and economic counseling are also increasing.