Zagreb (IKA) – Conveying the position of the Holy See regarding the positive aviso [formal notification] that Croatia received from Bruxelles on the path to becoming a full member of the European Union, the apostolic nuncio in the Republic of Croatia, Archbishop Francisco Javier Lozano, in an interview for the April 28 issue of the daily newspaper Vecernji list, pointed out that the Holy See views this initial step by Croatia toward the European Union with great satisfaction. “Considering the history of this country, it is evident that it and its inhabitants are part of Europe. Due to the fact that Croatia was a part of the Balkan federation during the past century, many Europeans forget that Croatia was and remains a Central European country. Therefore, the aspirations to become a member of the European Union are nothing other than Croatia’s attempts to be a part of the great European family,” concluded Archbishop Lozano.

In response to being asked what he thinks about the fact that there are those in the Croatian Catholic community who see more of an obstacle than an advantage on the path toward Europe, Nuncio Lozano said that in Europe there is no shortage of politicians who see a threat in Catholic Croatia to their strategies and plans to destroy the family and social institutions that are at the base of Europe with its Christian roots. He pointed out that the free and independent Croatia is not a confessional state but this does not mean that it is a laicized state. According to the nuncio, Croatia has deep moral and ethical values that will help it enter within the large democratic and pluralistic European family with its head held high. He recommended that political opponents should not fear Croatia and its values because it will enrich the human and Christian treasury of millions of European women and men who, disappointed with the prevailing materialism, have set their sights upward.

In response to the question whether he thinks that there are elements that oppose Croatia’s European integration within the Catholic Church in Croatia, the nuncio commented that as in all pluralistic realities, it is possible that such opinions exist, but he expressed the conviction that the leaders of the Catholic Church in Croatia are pro-Europe and will do everything to defend a positive position in regards to future European integration. He noted that Croatia in terms of its faith and affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church has already been integrated into Europe for the past thirteen centuries. Therefore, Croatia is actually at the forefront on the path toward integration. He recalled that Croatian bishops been engaged for years in pastoral activity together with the bishops of Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, i.e. with those European nations that have similar problems and interests. He noted that an international symposium was held at the end of last week in Zagreb, in the form of preparation for the Central European Catholic Day that will be celebrated in Mariazell, Austria, from May 21 to 23, and commented that all the previously mentioned countries by their participation have demonstrated that Europe is becoming united and that Croatia is a part of that family.