1. Elections of representatives to the Croatian Parliament are always exceptionally important events for us as Croatian citizens and believers. However, this year they have special significance because Croatian citizens are being confronted with a referendum on the issue of Croatia’s accession to the European Union. While politicians may have their reasons for strictly separating the parliamentary elections from the referendum, we nevertheless believe that both must be seen as interconnected.
Although we are appealing to the Catholic faithful in a particular way, we should like our words to reach out to all the other citizens of our country so that when deciding for whom to cast their votes they can also keep our reflections in mind, since they have been written in order to achieve the common good.
Regardless of the type of earthly authority, the Church has the mission of proclaiming and always attempting to live the same Truth, which sometimes sparks disagreement with its positions and open intolerance. The Church does not take upon itself the political battle for authority but it does promote general human and evangelical values, serving in love, in order to bring about the most just society possible (cf. Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, 28). Therefore, Church institutions and ordained priests and religious remain outside the classification of political parties and party politics in their pastoral ministry, because otherwise they would not only be violating Church ordinances but this could also lead to the grave danger of destroying ecclesial communion. For this reason, we note that Church premises must not be used for presenting political parties, confrontation or any other political purpose.

2. Each voter is called to make wise judgments, in the light of the basic human goods and circumstances in the Croatian society in which he is called to act. This means that under the current circumstances, to consider the basic human goods in question and judge which parties or political options of individual candidates, in accordance with the programs they offer, merit confidence and provide the highest assurance that these goods will be protected and promoted. Considerable assistance in making such differentiation is provided by the Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, November 24, 2002), which we recommend for study and consideration in religious communities during the election campaign.
Moreover, during the visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Croatia this year, we received a specific point of reference and guidance for life, in which questions of faith and the public life of the faithful are intertwined in our homeland. His messages are also of great value during the election campaigns.

3. The key to identifying the specific political attitudes of the faithful is found in the doctrine and tradition of the Church, as well as in the nature of its mission. Additionally, the religious feeling and sense of ecclesiasticism that we bear within us, which guide us in deciding to whom we want to entrust the leadership of our country, are of vital importance. It is precisely due to religious affiliation, exchange of opinions and ecclesial community that it should not be difficult to arrive at the necessary insights and take a position concerning which political programs contradict the fundamental anthropological and ethical values and principles that are rooted in the nature of the human being.
It is understandable, therefore, that on this occasion we underscore the necessity of protecting human life in all its stages, from conception to natural death. The family is certainly among these fundamental considerations. Pope Benedict XVI spoke to us about the “irreplaceable value of the family founded upon matrimony and the need for legislation which supports families in the task of giving birth to children and educating them” (Zagreb, Mass at the Hippodrome, June 5, 2011). For the Church, equating any other form of living together with the family is not acceptable, as this would contribute to the violation of the stability of the concept of family and marriage as the union of a man and woman, the violation of the rights of children, and disregard for the special significance and irreplaceable social role of the family. Moreover, the painful demographic issue concerning our nation must not be ignored.
In this manner, safeguarding the sanctity of life and the family, it is important to see what their approach is to the political options concerning questions of education, i.e., how much importance they afford to religious education from an early age and how they intend to advocate sincerely for the growth of the full personalities of children and young people, including a Christian worldview, within the system of elementary and higher education. Furthermore, in leading the country, what means do they intend to employ for promoting the birth of children, and how do they actually want to make it possible for families to feel the support of the society in their responsibility and willingness to accept God’s gift of life.
Within the family, the scope of the human mind and freedom are opened in the most direct way for a supernatural foundation and the cultivation of conscience. The Pope told us that the formation of conscience and the quality of democracy are directly connected because the conscience is the place of listening to the truth and good, the place of responsibility before God and man, and added: “It is by forming consciences that the Church makes her most specific and valuable contribution to society. It is a contribution that begins in the family and is strongly reinforced in the parish, where infants, children and young people learn to deepen their knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, the ‘great codex’ of European culture; at the same time they learn what it means for a community to be built upon gift, not upon economic interests or ideology, but upon love, ‘the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity’ (Caritas in veritate, 1). This logic of gratuitousness, learnt in infancy and adolescence, is then lived out in every area of life, in games, in sport, in interpersonal relations, in art, in voluntary service to the poor and the suffering, and once it has been assimilated it can be applied to the most complex areas of political and economic life so as to build up a polis that is welcoming and hospitable, but at the same time not empty, not falsely neutral, but rich in humanity, with a strongly ethical dimension” (Zagreb, Croatian National Theater, June 4, 2011).

4. A large area of political undertaking is undoubtedly the issue of the culture of work. It is not only about making it possible for the unemployed to work, acquiring a livelihood, investments and initiating production, all of which are of exceptional importance, but also the dignity of the worker and employer, laws that regulate the issues of work and entrepreneurship, institutions responsible for promoting and protecting the value of work. Actually, by not taking into account the integrity of the mystery of life, the issue of work is reduced to the financial or economic level. However, it concerns a complex network of social relations and internal values that must not be trampled.
Thus, the attitude toward Sunday, which for Christians is a day above all days, the day of the Lord and, therefore, more than just a non-working day, reveals the attitude toward other fundamental values. Therefore, it is disastrous to leave the organization of the dynamics of the week to merchants and those who only care about profit.
Moreover, in the area of work we know that there are various relationships that can be imbued with selfishness or generosity, excessiveness or solidarity. It is not difficult to recognize who cares about the good of the entire community, and who is only interested in profit or the exploitation of a public and political position. In fact, each person has his own past, evidence of his responsibility or irresponsibility, honesty or dishonesty. Therefore, it is important to consider those who are featured on the candidate lists and what type of people they are.

5. We hope that in the coming elections we will chose those representatives who, not subjugating themselves to ideological alignments, will take actual steps in illuminating the truth about our recent past and establish policies grounded upon the solid rock of the truth. For the good of our nation, the strength must finally be found to confront all the crimes of totalitarianism. While measures have been taken to denounce and penalize the crimes of fascism and Nazism, this has not occurred with the crimes of the communist regime, although doing so would be of exceptional importance to current and future Croatian generations.
Not only is the relativization of these crimes an unacceptable deviation from the heritage of civilized nations but it is also a deep wound for all those who even today have no knowledge about their loved ones, and for the whole nation that experiences the shame of dual criteria, from which no progress can be derived. The period of the Second World War and immediately afterwards, with its painful issues, is etched in the minds of generations and encumbers the present. In the Croatian cultural tissue, there are still remembrances of people whose lives should be clearly labeled as unseemly, as well as those who left behind evil speech and the oppression of human dignity. They cannot be sources of inspiration or examples to be imitated.
Therefore, we are witnesses that relativism easily gives rise to new forms of relativism. With regret we note the continued creation and imposition of an unclear picture of the defense of the Croatian homeland twenty years ago, when its freedom and independence were under attack, with all the astonishing consequences at the legal and political levels. The Croatian government has the responsibility to preserve, protect and strengthen the commemoration of the supporting events and people who are important for the identity and memory of modern Croatia, while eliminating attacks upon the pillars of genuine values.

6. At the beginning, we mentioned that these elections are also important due to their proximity to the decision by the citizens of Croatia regarding the possible accession of our country into an alliance with the countries of the European Union.
Last year, on the occasion of the accession negotiations, we sent you a letter concerning this matter (March 19, 2010). We recommend that you reread it for a detailed understanding of our attitude and emphasis concerning certain issues.
Now we draw your attention to the fact that during the years of the struggle for Croatian survival and the defense of its independence, we have clearly and passionately been oriented toward the community of European nations, always based on the fact that Croatia is an integral part of Europe on the historical and cultural levels, which has contributed to the building of Europe. This has been recognized and emphasized repeatedly by the successors of St. Peter, particularly in recent times by the Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
We are aware of the disappointments that have occurred in recent years due to some procedures within the European political structures, owing to a lack of sensitivity concerning Croatia’s efforts and sacrifices. It is completely justified and good to question the values that are promoted, the advantages and disadvantage of such an association, presenting valid arguments. In the aforementioned letter, we emphasized that Europe “suffers from a profound crisis of values” (No. 13). Moreover, the Church has repeatedly warned that Europe cannot build its future by relying solely on economic and financial union, and needs to rediscover its inherent values, including its Christian roots.
However, Europe is the environment to which Croatia belongs. It is necessary to contribute and fight for the European face of Europe. In weighing the response to the referendum, it is good to ask what happened during the past twenty years and what would change our relationship toward Europe, where the desire for recognition of such evident belonging to Europe has been lost.
It seems to us that the responsibility lies primarily in Croatia. Did not the acts and attitudes of Croatian politicians lead Croatia into confusion and difficulties? Indifference or lack of concern for the features of Croatian identity created strange impressions and not infrequently incorrect interpretations of the “requirements of Europe.”
Therefore, who will promote Croatian values that can enrich Europe and how this will be done are of importance. What kind of future policy can be called European in various forms? If we approach Europe with our identity, which has successfully managed to carve out and preserve its sovereignty and recognizability, we need not fear that this could not be accomplished within the framework of European association. Therefore, let us note that it does matter who is elected in these elections because representation of the “European option” has many hues. Sometimes they are difficult to recognize.

7. Brothers and sisters, desiring that the election campaign will provide a genuine opportunity for political and moral growth, we appeal for the following:
a) The believers who are active in political life should be courageous, properly organized and wholeheartedly advocate Christian attitudes concerning the respect for life, families, education and the culture of work.
b) The voters should not succumb to the temptation not to vote and should participate with their votes because we have no right to complain about the circumstances in which we live if we do not influence them by providing the scope for adequate policies.
c) The relevant government authorities should responsibly allow all the parties and candidates to present their platforms suitably, without media blockades or exclusion.
d) The political parties and candidates should clearly and realistically present their positions to the people, without attempts at manipulation, means that deviate from the truth, intentional distortion of the actual situation, false promises or various forms of discrediting political opponents.
e) Priests and Church officials, without any politization whatsoever, should use the election campaign period as a moment for prayer and evangelization, gathering the faithful to pray for the homeland and deepening the formation of political consciousness in harmony with the social doctrine of the Church.
f) Everyone should seriously, responsibly and comprehensively consider the question of Croatian accession to the European Union, taking into account the truth about Croatia’s belonging to and participating in the building of the cultural and social characteristics of Europe over the centuries, as well as the importance of Croatian politicians for protecting and promoting the Croatian identity in such a community.
All of us, believers, constantly accompany political life with fervent prayer and invoke the power of God’s Holy Spirit for those who will be entrusted with the leadership of our country in the next period of history.

8. Brothers and sisters, God has given us a beautiful homeland. We know that we can live well here with unselfish work and solidarity. God has entrusted the care of Croatia to us: from concern for the people to the conservation of the natural resources. Over the centuries, he has given us models in great Croatian giants of the spirit from economic, political, scientific and cultural life, who did not stint in their patriotism. In the first place are the persons of the saints. Besides them, as exceptional examples of gratuitousness, are the Croatian defenders who bore witness with their gift of self and responsibility during the assault on freedom and fundamental human values.
Praying for God’s blessing and the intercession of St. Joseph, the patron saint of Croatia, as well as all the Croatian saints and beati, especially the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, we greet you in the fellowship of faith and ecclesial co-responsibility.

Your Bishops
In Varaždin, on the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, October 18, 2011

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The Croatian bishops urge voters to vote in the elections for the representatives in the Croatian Parliament and to approach the referendum on Croatian accession to the European Union responsibily:

We do not have the right to complain about the circumstances in which we live if we do not want to influence them.

Brothers and sisters, desiring that the election campaign will provide a genuine opportunity for political and moral growth, we appeal for the following:
a) The believers who are active in political life should be courageous, properly organized and wholeheartedly advocate Christian attitudes concerning the respect for life, families, education and the culture of work.
b) The voters should not succumb to the temptation not to vote and should participate with their votes because we have no right to complain about the circumstances in which we live if we do not influence them by providing the scope for adequate policies.
c) The relevant government authorities should responsibly allow all the parties and candidates to present their platforms suitably, without media blockades or exclusion.
d) The political parties and candidates should clearly and realistically present their positions to the people, without attempts at manipulation, means that deviate from the truth, intentional distortion of the actual situation, false promises or various forms of discrediting political opponents.
e) Priests and Church officials, without any politization whatsoever, should use the election campaign period as a moment for prayer and evangelization, gathering the faithful to pray for the homeland and deepening the formation of political consciousness in harmony with the social doctrine of the Church.
f) Everyone should seriously, responsibly and comprehensively consider the question of Croatian accession to the European Union, taking into account the truth about Croatia’s belonging to and participating in the building of the cultural and social characteristics of Europe over the centuries, as well as the importance of Croatian politicians for protecting and promoting the Croatian identity in such a community.
All of us, believers, constantly accompany political life with fervent prayer and invoke the power of God’s Holy Spirit for those who will be entrusted with the leadership of our country in the next period of history.