Zagreb, August 23, 1999 (IKA) — The president of the Croatian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Josip Bozanić, sent a telegram expressing condolences to Archbishop Giuseppe Germano Bernardini of Izmir today, August 23, on the occasion of the recent severe earthquake in Turkey and the massive suffering and loss among the Turkish people. In his telegram, the archbishop expressed compassion for the many victims among the Turkish people and prayed that the good God receive all who have perished into His Kingdom, comfort the afflicted and remain close to all who need consolation, fortitude or any type of assistance.
In addition, Bishop Antun Škvorčević of Požega asked the priests in all the churches of the Požega Diocese to include the earthquake victims of Turkey in their prayers at the regular Sunday Masses on August 29 and to organize the collection of monetary gifts for the victims. The money collected will be sent from the Požega Diocese via Caritas to the secretary of the Turkish Conference of Catholic Bishops, Msgr. Georges Marovitch, for distribution to the most needy. In his appeal, Bishop Škvorčević emphasized that neither geographical distance nor religious, national or cultural affiliations diminish the sense of “sincere and profound compassion” toward people in misfortune.