Readings: Rev 21:10-14, 22-23; Jn 14:23-29

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. Following the proclamation of the Gospel, in this place overflowing with historical memories and religious remembrance, grateful to God for the gift of faith, I pray with the words of the psalm: “Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for thou art with me” (Ps 23:4).
We are assembled in a valley today that abounds in the natural beauty of May. It is easy to immerse ourselves in the seductiveness of this beauty and see it as a marvelous gift from God. However, this valley knows that one May day it became a singular valley for a beleaguered nation, a valley of death, extinguished lives and dashed earthly hopes. This valley knows why we are here today. This valley shall always whisper the words that remained in it to the Croatian nation in a manner known only to us, prayers that are uttered in it, transmitting to us the taste of love and also the taste of hatred, before which all beauty convulses in pain.
Looking at us thus assembled, someone for whom this is just an ordinary valley and field could ask: Who are these people and where did they come from? (cf. Rev 7:13). We are the faithful, assembled by the blood of the Lamb, liberated by his victory over death, marked by the cross of Christ. As believers and even before death, we confess life, and before a tragedy for which sufficiently powerful human words do not exist, we immerse our thoughts in prayer, we place all our questions and hopes in prayer, while through the liturgical celebration we become part of the heavenly homeland.

2. Where have we come from? We have come from our earthly homeland, Croatia, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, from various parts of Europe and the world, glad that on this field today we can calmly state that pride has sprung from the Croatian victims of the blood-filled violence and that the prerequisites have been created for the truth about God and man to burst forth through this field, the truth that must not be turned over to human manipulation.
We have come here following the same paths on which sixty-two years ago, after the end of the Second World War, columns of soldiers and civilians sought protection from the deadly hands of the Yugoslav and other victors of war. On this path, we have once again heart the voices of the victims that we were not permitted to hear for decades. We have encountered them in our thoughts. We have met them, although even today the places of their execution are still not marked and the names of the perpetrators of deeds unworthy of the human race have not been disclosed. From forests and ditches, from trenches and courtyards, a whisper reaches us that hopes to be strong enough for us to hear it and to loudly utter it as a truth that is once again capable of bearing life, to give a meaning to their deaths, to create the foundations for building a society in which the least that we can do is to pay homage to innocent victims.

3. Yes, brothers and sisters, this valley has seen the careworn faces of Croatian civilians and Croatian soldiers, Croatian fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, faces that were immersed in hope and expectations that they would encounter human decency, a path toward lawfulness and a life that would not be mixed with hatred, insane vengeance and ideological lies. However, this valley saw the thwarting of this hope, disappointment, uncertainty and, finally, atrocities.
That May, in the year 1945, this valley swelled greatly. Due to people who neither respected God nor man, from the field of Bleiburg victims were discharged into death marches, blows, camps, prisons, torture chambers and death, which spread its stench and fear for hundreds of kilometers but also, like poison, was added to the history fed to new generations. From the moment that this valley could not longer see faces but backs and returning steps, the bloody trail on which the Croatian nation returned to the Yugoslav prison, its beauty was transformed into pain, in unspeakable cruelty and ultimately anonymity.
Twelve years ago, May 1, 1995, in A Letter from the Croatian Conference of Bishops on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the End of the Second World War, we wrote the following: “… that May – unlike other nations to whom freedom and democracy were restored – the arrival of the Marxist totalitarian system signified for us a new beginning of imprisonment, the killing of innocent people. Many suffered merely because they were Catholics, because they were Catholic priests and men and women religious, because they were Catholic bishops. This martyrology is an indictment of the perpetrators but, moreover, it is the glory of Christ’s Church.”
From the moment of the shameful handing over of disarmed Croatian soldiers and innocent civilians to their executioners, criminals have prohibited every monument in this place. Everything that followed after Bleiburg forcibly attempted to prevent the truth from breaking the silence with the voices of the victims.
The communist authorities made this valley a point of departure on a path of death and bloodshed. Nonetheless, today this valley is a place of our commemoration and the celebration of God, who is the way, truth and life. God is the one who has transformed all the paths of human suffering into the Way of the Cross of his Son; who has exposed all human lies with his truth and in every darkness of death brought the rays of the light of his life. This is what no tyranny can stop. Therefore, in us as believers, violence does not exist. Nonetheless, there does exist an outcry for the truth.

4. Unfortunately, many of our assemblies – interwoven with prayers and purified remembrances – are perceived by people who belonged to the communist regime or remained blinded by their propaganda, and who do not wish to be liberated by the truth, through the eyes of their ideology. They censure the Catholic Church, its pastors and the faithful, in although while I have put nothing except love into them. This is actually what bothers them: love of the person, love of the Homeland, love of the downtrodden and love of the truth that springs from God.
Today I am among you as a person who through pilgrimage wishes to honor the suffering pilgrimage filled with hope toward freedom. Among you I am a believer who has come to a valley about which many were compelled to remain silent, to suppress the truth about their crime. I am among you – in the humility of God’s chosen – as a pastor who has come to confess and strengthen the faith together with you. I am among you as a Croatian who has come with love to ponder the earthly tragedy of his people and pray for its victims, but also in remembrance of the suffering of all the victims of unspeakable human cruelty in this valley. With great piety, I particularly commemorate members of the Islamic faith who suffered together with Christians.

5. While I am speaking in this manner, someone could think that we have been assembled in this place by the tragedy of death. Someone could conclude that we have come to mourn the inevitability of a human drama, overhung by human evil. No, we have been brought here today by Life and faith in Life. Today I am here with you to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord and pray for the light of the Holy Spirit, in which we as the faithful ask ourselves what God is telling us in the experiences of wars, persecutions and the sacrifice of innocent people, that which God has to say to us as a nation when we are placed before the trial of indescribable pain.
In Christianity there are positions and values that must never be forgotten. One of them is respect for the life of others. Here there can be no national, confessional, philosophical or political differences. The fundamental equality of the dignity of all people issues from the very nature of the person, created in the image of God. It is precisely for this reason that it is difficult to understand why it is still not possible to hear a voice that states with sufficient clarity that life was not respected here, that Croatian soldiers and civilians were killed after the war without any courts or evidence of guilt. I repeat: after the war!

6. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks about his going to his Father. His death sentence had already been written. He was well aware that his words pained his disciples and troubled their hearts. Encouraging words about peace probably sounded like illusions to them, just as words from the Holy Scriptures sound to people of our time that promise safety and tranquility in a world torn apart by unrest. The peace that Jesus speaks about is the peace that understands the human exclamation: My God, why have you forsaken me? but also knows that only in God is the final home in which the exclamation of desperation is transformed into peace of heart.
“Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Giving his peace, Jesus says this because he knows that the boundary between good and evil is in our hearts and the that genuine reconciliation must first occur within a person; that reconciliation cannot be established by any political agreements and means of force, because in such a case it is transformed into an even greater untruth. Jesus’ peace is not a peace that the world gives, it is not a bought peace or even a peace that wants to be imposed by war. It is not a peace that is achieved through economic prosperity, consumer illusions or placing one’s own personality in the center of the world.
For us Christians, Christ’s peace is a requirement. It does not belong to the final peace of the dead. The first gift of the resurrected Christ to the frightened disciples is peace. A peaceful heart is a strong heart, one that does waiver and does not lose confidence under opposition, neither succumbing to despondency nor becoming discouraged in suffering. The revelation of God in our own lives, the joyful encounter with him, immersion in his beauty and conversion to Jesus Christ, who is recognized as God, are reasons for joy and peace in the human heart.

7. Christ’s peace, that the world cannot provide, is experienced by us, the faithful who live in our earthly home. We know how important it is for every person to be in the sheltering love and warmth of a home. No one willingly leaves his home or homeland, or easily forgets them. The people that we commemorate here did not leave Croatia or their homes lightheartedly. Therefore, brothers and sisters, how can the heart not clench at the unjust assertion that they would not have fled if they were not guilty. Such a generalization is truly insulting. After everything that happened when they were turned over to the Yugoslav communist authorities, does anyone still doubt that their fear was justified?
One of Tito’s closest associates at the time, Milovan Đilas, testified as follows in 1979: “To be frank, we did not understand why the British were returning those people to us. They were mostly ordinary peasants. They had not killed anyone. Their only crime was fear of communism. They (Englishmen) did something that was completely wrong when they sent those people across the border, as we did something wrong by killing them all (see Vlatko Pavletić, Tuđmanova doktrina i drugi članci [Tuđman’s Doctrine and other Articles], Zagreb, 2007, p. 151). I ask myself if this is communist anti-fascism?
While we comfort ourselves with words of faith, as people we cannot overlook injustices that have generated new injustices. After the Second World War, how many homes were devastated, demolished or confiscated? How many people were disenfranchised or stymied? How much wealth was stolen and how many were born into poverty due to the greed of the unjust communist regime?
Not only is execution in question but everything that this signified with its consequences on the level of the society. A new order was created that will never deserve to be called just, despite the many attempts to present it as having being created “in the name of the people.” The Bleiburg tragedy impoverished the entire Croatian society. Due to offshoots of this event, hundreds of thousands of Croatians were forcibly marginalized; many later were compelled to emigrate, families that in any way were connected with the victims of these events were coerced into total silence and were politically mistreated; the descendents were considered second-class citizens, especially if they did not want to accept the new ideology or the extortionists’game of terror.
The Bleiburg tragedy and everything that followed this introduction to criminality on a much broader scale left devastation in the spiritual and cultural tissue of the Croatian nation because a large number of intellectuals were killed, silenced and dispersed, particularly Catholics, priests, and men and women religious, in order to implant Marxist ideology and godlessness more easily. From then until today, the Church in our nation was stigmatized and subjected to accusations that not a single analyst who holds to the truth and aspires to objectivity could attribute to it. That among the sons and daughters of the Church there were also those who perpetrated crimes is something that we lament with sorrow, recognizing the pain that their sins inflicted.

8. In this place, as a bishop of the Church among the Croatian nation, I may not remain silent. Moreover, I should ask the questions asked by every honorable person enlightened by the truth. How is it that sixty years after these unspeakable crimes, despite the fact that there are still a sufficient number of witnesses and collected testimony, and although from the multitude of facts it is evident what this is about, no one has been held responsible? How is it that the names of those who ordered and perpetrated these acts are still unknown? How is it that it is still not possible, at least generally if not at a concrete level, to hear a clear condemnation of everything that cries out due to the trampling of divine and human rights, and was perpetrated against the Croatian nation? Do we think that it is possible to build a healthy Croatian society or any kind of society with the awareness that generations of our children and young people have been fed untruths and are still being fed them today? How is it that a list of the victims has not been compiled and the places of the mass graves where the unidentified bones of known and unknown persons still lie are not marked?
It is terrible to think that murderers have lived so many years together with us and are still living; that they have permeated every pore of daily life. Perhaps not even those closest to them know the truth about them as they have been presented in the best light, as freedom fighters. We pray for them, for God to give them the strength of conversion, admission of guilt and acceptance of freedom in truth. As believers, as citizens of a sovereign and independent Croatia, we justifiably anticipate that the state institutions will do what they are required to do by law; to investigate these crimes and expose the perpetrators. We expect the authorized institutions of the state of Croatia to speak out more clearly about the communist regime and the crimes that it planned and systematically implemented, and on the basis of the truth promote those values that are not congruous with communist falsifications, both in the historical and philosophical senses. We expect that the Croatian authorities, pursuant to the declared pro-European orientation, will undertake everything to implement Resolution 1481 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the international condemnation of the crimes of the totalitarian communist regimes, dated January 25, 2006.
I have asked many times and invited those authorized to take steps to illuminate the truth. I repeat this invitation today. Seek and respect the truth about the victims and perpetrators in a legal and just manner. Let there be no political reason for which the truth should remain buried and thrust from the stage of the development of a healthy Croatian society. For our present and healthy future, due to our responsibilities toward young generations, it is necessary to establish a nonpartisan and independent state institution that will use scientific methods to illuminate the truth about the victims of the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century: fascism, Nazism and communism. The past is a part of our life and clearly manifests its strength in the present. That which is lightly called history among us is often written by those or the followers of those who created these events with innocent blood. Is it not too obvious that nothing is heard about some historical investigations or that they are passed over in silence?

9. In recent months, amidst unrest arising due to unclear facts and a dishonest attitude toward past events, a discussion occurred about the so-called foibe (natural sinkholes in karstic terrain and other excavations into which bodies were thrown after mass killings), of terrible places of death and the suffering that fascism and communism left in their wake. As the Church, we may not remain silent about the truth here, either, and it is the truth that members of the totalitarian regimes created these horrible reminders of inhumanity.
As the Church, today we say that such places occurred where God was thrust out from life. Wartime, much less the postwar period, cannot serve as any excuse whatsoever. During the times of fascist and communist terror, priests and believers were killed because Christianity cannot coexist peacefully with any inhumane form of rule. In Croatia, antifascism and communism are too easily equated, i.e. justified aspirations in the struggle for freedom are equated with the godless ideology of Bolshevist and Greater Serbian plans. Therefore, we are not surprised that discussion is conducted among the guilty and their followers from various aspects, by those who support Partisan crimes and those who do not wish to relinquish fascist aspirations and condemn their crimes.
It is well known how valuable the activity of the Catholic Church is in the establishment of community among nations and how we believers from various nations and countries easily understand each other and share the pain that was caused by the bad judgment of politicians in the past. We care about preserving the identity and integrity of our own countries as well as the international community and understanding. This can only be possible when based upon the truth. The Catholic Church continues to do everything in its power for God’s truth to speak out in our lives, to which each person is subject.

10. I speak as a Catholic bishop who can be proud of the activity of the Church during the most difficult times of totalitarianism. They wanted to classify us in the ideology of antihumanism. Even up to today, they accuse us of being guilty of something, although the Church has demonstrated that under fascism, Nazism or communism it did not represent these ideologies, that Catholics suffered and died from inhumanity labeled with a variety of symbols; and that prisons, concentration camps and mass graves were filled with them. This must be known. The slander of those who want to attribute culpability to the Church, in order to promote “their truth” today, must not be accepted naively. We are called every day to re-examine our sinfulness and repent for committed sins. In every liturgical celebration, we confess our need for God’s mercy in various forms of repentance. Therefore, it is extreme cynicism and shamelessness to classify the Catholic Church among the supporters of any political system whatsoever, particularly to place it shoulder to shoulder with those under whom the Church has suffered the most, because the person suffered, regardless of religion, race, nationality or class.
While we commemorate the terrible Bleiburg tragedy today, I also think with horror about the Ustasha camp of Jasenovac. I feel that it is necessary to state here that due to our faith in God and love for Croatia, we must not blur our perception of anyone’s crimes. In this spirit, I repeat the words of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac who, without any ambiguity whatsoever in the midst of the war, in February 1943, called the Jasenovac camp a “shameful stain,” and referred to the murderers in it as “the greatest misfortune of Croatia.” However, the Croatian society deserves truth that is available to all and as complete as possible! As a Christian and as a Croatian, I would be unworthy of both names if I justified someone’s crime in the back of my mind. Does anyone actually think that the pain of the innocents inflicted by members of the Croatian nation is not my pain? I would be equally unworthy of humanity if failed to denounce the lie and injustice inflicted upon the Croatian nation.
Out of respect for all the victims, when Jasenovac is in question it is necessary to allow the truth to speak out in its authenticity. Therefore, I am pleased that in recent years there has been a shift away from deafening propaganda and historical inaccuracy. The Croatian public has the right to know the truth about Jasenovac during the time of the Second World War, as well as after it stopped serving as an Ustasha camp. It is urgently necessary to investigate how many people perished in this terrible place of execution and inhumanity, in order to nurture sensitivity to the suffering caused by those who hated humanity.
Wherever we Christian faithful find ourselves, we do not gather in order to hate together but to find the strength for community in Love. Therefore, I once again quote from the letter by the Croatian bishops: “In yearning for God’s forgiveness, we mutually forgive each other. Our historical memory does not store unsettled accounts that bear thoughts of vengeance. We remember the evil that occurred and should not have occurred. We learn how not to repeat sin and to persevere in a good decision. However, the content of our historical memory includes all that was done by the people of the Church when they condemned crimes and wholeheartedly protected and helped those endangered while the Second World War still raged. This Christian decisiveness and sacrifice, particularly by the Catholic bishops in Croatia, is an inspiration and impetus for today’s generation” (Letter from the Croatian Conference of Bishops on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the End of the Second World War, May 1, 1995).

11. Jesus left us with words addressed to the heavenly Father: “Consecrate them in truth.” These words belong to us faithful and obligate us, denoting the essence of Christianity. Love makes it possible for us to come out of ourselves in order to focus upon God, in order to hear his Word, and not our own goals, not allowing our immediate desires to deflect us from the truth and blur our vision with the superficiality of human value judgments.
Christ’s truth liberates us. Here today we pray for the light of truth to enable us to recognize the fruits of the ideology of evil in the 20th century more clearly: fascism, Nazism and communism. We are here, brothers and sisters, because with our prayer and Eucharistic community we want once again to water the offshoots of the Kingdom of God, based upon love and not upon force and hatred. We trust in God, who sanctifies in truth. We pray that he shall always bestow the clear criteria of that truth upon us, with love in the first place. It is true that every person who seeks the truth will find God.
As believers, we bring to this valley that which was lacking during those days of May 1945: peace. Praying for all the victims, our eyes are fixed upon the cross. From now on, that symbol shall mark this valley more clearly. The measure of our truth is Christ’s cross. It has protected all times and all human dramas. The cross is madness to some, scandalous to others and to us who share in Christi’s mysteries, it is salvation and compass.
It is not possible to pass through this field calmly and unemotionally. Christians will contemplate the altar and cross, the symbol of our salvation. Therefore, I thank all who up to the present and during difficult times, when merely appearing at this field was to risk one’s life, have preserved the memory of the innocent postwar victims. I thank all who have made the construction of this place possible and who, in cooperation with the authorized Austrian institutions, are working on the overall solution for this memorial site.
I also urge unity. Do not allow us as a nation and Church to be fragmented by those who do not care about Croatian betterment, unity and good. I urge the unity of the homeland and emigrant Croatia. May everyone who can contribute to the truth about the Bleiburg tragedy do so in the Christian spirit of humility and self-giving.

12. Here we are in a place where, immediately after the Second World War in the heart of Europe, the dignity of the person was trampled in the most violent manner. We are here in order to express our gratitude for the sacrifices of those whose bodies are concealed here. However, the truth cannot remain concealed but continues to lead more loudly and credibly in the lives of all those who believe in Christ, with confidence in eternal life. History for us Christians in the light of God’s omnipresence is memoria futuri – remembrance of the future. In this faith in which love conquers death, we see our departed in the city described by the Book of Revelation, in the city which “has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb! … But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:23, 27).
Lord, make the Bleiburg field wide enough for all who experience the suffering of others as their own. Make it sufficiently fertile so that hatred does not spring from it but trees of love and peace.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of pain and hope; the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, martyr and defender of the truth, and all the sainted martyrs of the Croatian nation intercede to God for us and help us to live according to the Gospel of God’s love.
And you, our holy, powerful and immortal God, grant us clemency and peace. Amen.