Zagreb, (IKA) – The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, issued a Christmas message in which he emphasizes that this Christmas calls us to serious reflection and prayer so as we are not negligent as individuals and a nation. “God has given us the grace of experiences within a short time that clearly testify to the value and fruitfulness of the truth, trust in God and reliance on faith, and the terrible influences of lies, pretense, greed, insatiable selfishness and the trampling of honor. There are many situations in life when we cannot clearly see the outcomes but we know that with faith in our hearts and with love of man and the world, we have a joyful future. Likewise, there is much that we know does not lead to good,” said the cardinal.
“Everyone who bears responsibility for others, especially for the nation, cannot hide behind superficial slogans that sound appealing but are merely echoes of emptiness. Political authority that attempts to solve fundamental social problems while ignoring fundamental anthropological truths necessarily leads to the destruction of the person and misfortune for Croatia,” warned the Archbishop of Zagreb.
In the message, the cardinal recalls that there have been various attempts throughout history that disputed Christian anthropology: from those that existed as heresy within the Church to those that with various ideologies attempted from the outside to offer a different image of man, which was also imposed upon Christians.
The Archbishop of Zagreb cautioned that imposed anti-human interpretations that became political dictatorships and ideological totalitarianisms have been particularly painful for cultures and civilizations. These regularly infiltrated the educational system of a society, re-educating children and young people, denying freedom of choice and prohibiting sincerity and honesty in the presentation of arguments, both those that we call scientific as well as those that belong to other sources and other types of knowledge, enshrined in religion and culture, most often expressed in art. “For us as Christians, all of them have their beginning and end in God and, if applied consistently and used, cannot be contradictory,” said the cardinal and cautioned that it was precisely for this reason that it is not innocuous that there have recently been vigorous efforts to impose contents in the Croatian educational system that have features of anthropological deflection from Judeo-Christian and broader religious positions. “In many ways, we have warned of the harmful effects of such efforts by the authorities upon Croatian culture and society because they intrinsically conceal a method that disregards suitable behavior in seeking the common good, the role of parents, responsibility and freedom in the choice of a program. This method does not respect the religious freedom guaranteed in constitutional and international acts,” wrote the Archbishop of Zagreb.
Noting that many will say that Christmas is a family holiday, the cardinal urges us to ask ourselves freely in our homeland what we are doing for the family. “There will also be a large number of people who agree that in life the family and family ties are of the utmost importance but are we acting in such a way that we are building, strengthening and protecting families or are we resigned to the facts that the family is being dissolved, couples are divorcing and children are being denied a wholesome upbringing?” asked the cardinal.
“Croatian Christmas, no matter how difficult, has always been a joyful event because it was celebrated by Christians filled with faith. That is the kind of Christmas I want for you—honorable and full of faith. With such a Christmas, every year is a new one. Let us start anew,” urged the cardinal, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2013.