Samobor, June 14, 1999 (IKA) – Christianity, the Church and Politics was the topic examined on Saturday, June 12, in Samobor, at a day of study organized by the Center for the Promotion of the Social Doctrine of the Church of the Croatian Conference of Bishops. Over forty persons attended, including representatives of many political parties, members of parliament, Croatian Catholic businessmen, members of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Zagreb, representatives of the Independent Croatian Unions, the MIR Prayer Group and a number of priests. Introductory remarks were delivered by the head of the Center for the Promotion of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Dr. Stjepan Baloban, who noted that this was the first such meeting in our country and was conceived as an opportunity for dialogue. Regarding the internal and external reasons for holding this meeting, he said that the question of the relations of the Church, Christians and politics in Croatia is very acute and the need to discuss this topic increases daily. “In various political parties, there are people who declare themselves as Christian Catholics and often connect their considerations and concrete actions with Christianity, particularly with the Catholic Church. They do this through the social doctrine of the Church, which, to tell the truth, is poorly known in Croatia,” emphasized Dr. Baloban. He also added that one of the more important reasons for holding the meeting is the desire to open discussion on these important matters.
Speaking about humanism and politics, the academician Ivan Supić pointed out that the question of their relations is one of the central questions of political life. Supić noted that humanism and politics have their dignity, value and responsibility, a noble and high goal, but in human history humanism and politics can be and have been burdened by weaknesses and severe alienation of the individual.
Fra Špiro Marasović, Ph.D., spoke about dialogue and politics, emphasizing that dialogue in a democratic society is a factor of legitimacy, morality and opportunity. Where there is no dialogue, there is a lack of legitimacy of the political decision making process. In order for a democratic authority to be moral, it must foster dialogue in order to hear and assess various opinions. Dr. Marijan Valković, speaking about politicians and the ethical dimension of politics, particularly emphasized the “Ten Commandments” ethics for politicians of Dr. Valentin Zsifkovitz of Graz, which includes connecting personal interests with the interests of the general good, seeing a potential brother in the opponent and enemy, seeking success without the betrayal of conscience, and seeking power but placing it in the service of justice and love. The Christian spirituality of the politician was the subject of a lecture presented by Father Bono Zvonimir Šagi, who said that the question of whether it is necessary to speak at all about the spirituality of the politician arises spontaneously, particularly when spirituality is connected with religiosity or the concept of piety. He pointed out that a religious person cannot deny his complete identity, including his spiritual identity. Ivan Rimac spoke about the political culture of the citizen. He said that the goal of the society is to promote the political culture of all its members. All society members should be informed about the mechanisms of political authority but also the mechanisms of political control. “Within such a situation, the question arises concerning the role of the Church within the entire system. The Church, as one of the oldest organizations, has its traditional role consisting of its religious function and the function of preserving the culture of a specific territory,” stressed Rimac, adding that the Church also has a constituent role within the formation of the state, but today is an increasingly marginal institution in normal civil currents. The final lecture on the Church and politics was presented by Dr. Josip Grbac, who pointed out that the Church can impart the dimension of radicality to politics in the safeguarding of fundamental values, and such radicality should be correctly understood according to Christ#!s Sermon on the Mount. In our country, much is expected from the lay faithful, whose engagement requires urgent rekindling.
In the discussions following the lectures, needs were expressed for developing dialogue among the parties, practicing Christian values in Christian communities, assisting the formation of believers to enable them to participate in politics in accordance with their faith, and determining a consensus on all the positive strengths of our society in order to promote certain values. Help from the Church is anticipated. Those present agreed that all need to grow in responsibility. The proceedings from the meeting will be published during the summer. Dr. Baloban stressed the need for patient cooperation from all sides.