Zagreb, April 4, 1999 (IKA) – The president of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Josip Bozanić of Zagreb, sent an Easter greeting via electronic media to the faithful throughout the homeland. Speaking about the suffering and death to which each person is condemned, but which are only an introduction to the joy of the resurection, the archbishop emphasized the following: “A person is condemned to death when the joy of work is extinguished within him, when he is prevented from giving of himself through the creative work of his hands and thus becoming useful to himself and others. A person has the right to work. Work is for the person, not vice versa. The right to work has priority over profit and capital accumulation. Unemployment, firings and wage cut-backs are sins of our times. These sins weigh heavy upon a person and bring darkness and unrest within the family.”
Therefore, he invited all Christians, as people of the future, to be the bearers of hope for the future, and with hope and work to create new and better conditions for life, promoting life and the advancement of their milieus.
“In today#!s world, that craves sensation, so that what is blackest is the most provocative, there is a need for new education that will help people to rejoice in the gifts that God has bestowed upon us. We need new eyes to see the good that our brother and sister are doing beside us,” states Archbishop Bozanić. A person is also condemned to death when in his great hunger for life and the truth, he is offered a dream, i.e. drugs, that delude this hunger. Among today#!s drugs, the archbishop includes toxicomania, eroticism and obsession with fashion or trends. Similarly, “a person is condemned to death and executed when human life is prevented from developing in order to avoid inconvenience or increased living expenses … This refers to the abortions of the unborn, but also to the thwarting of the development of those who have been born, when a conceived life is discarded so that there will not be an extra mouth to feed at the family table; when dissension, arguments and divorce adversely affect the development of an innocent child; when a family that is not capable of love or a society that is not capable of safeguarding justice thwarts the development of the life of the young in the areas of love, employment and culture.”
At the end of his Easter greetings, Archbishop Bozanić wrote about the tragedy afflicting Kosovo and its innocent population: “These days, we are hearing about the killing, violence and expulsion of innocent people in Kosovo and the surroundings. We want to be near to all who are suffering, not only through compassion but through prayer and effective assistance.” Calling upon all Christians to promote and defend life, the archbishop wished all his fellow citizens and all Croats in the homeland and throughout the world a Happy Easter.