Zagreb, (IKA) – Croatian Catholic University Day was formally commemorated on Monday, June 3, in Zagreb. The participants included dignitaries from Church, political and public life of Croatia and other countries, including the Primate of Hungary and Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Cardinal Peter Erdö, who delivered a lecture entitled “Can an Educated European in Our Day Believe in the Divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ?”
In a welcoming speech, the Grand Chancellor of the Croatian Catholic University, Archbishop Josip Cardinal Bozanić of Zagreb, noted that during the past year the consequences of dragging around an unclear anthropological point of departure that ignores the dimension of human createdness have become clear in our country. He stressed the importance of higher education “so that the idea of serving others is promoted and this precisely at the age when young people are questioning the meaning of their lives, their capabilities and their positions in society.”
Recalling the seventh anniversary of the university’s establishment and the third anniversary of its operations, the Rector of the Croatian Catholic University, Dr. Željko Tanjić, said that the Croatian Catholic University was created “ex corde Ecclesiae—from the heart of our local Church, which has always devoted great attention and concern to upbringing, schooling and science, in the knowledge that faith and reason are mutually supportive and intertwined in the search for truth.” He expressed satisfaction at the issuance of permanent accreditations for conducting undergraduate and graduate studies in psychology, sociology and history, and noted that new curricula are being developed as well as scientific research and professional activities.
The Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Croatia, Archbishop Alessandro D’Errico, recalled the great satisfaction with which the Holy See accepted the initiative of the Archdiocese of Zagreb and the Croatian Conference of Bishops for the establishment of the new university. The President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Ivo Josipović, spoke of the immeasurable historical role of the Catholic Church in the educational development of the Croatian nation and the building and safeguarding of the national and cultural identity, conveying the great expectations of the academic community.
Regarding the forthcoming accession of Croatia into the European Union, Dr. Josipović noted that it is not necessary to fear that Europe will be the tomb of Croatian identity. Instead, it will be a field where Croatian culture and traditions will be further affirmed. Greetings were also delivered by the Rector of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University of Budapest, Dr. Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, with whom the Rector of the Croatian Catholic University, Dr. Tanjić, has signed a cooperation agreement.