Zagreb, January 31, 1999 (IKA) – More than 650 priests from the republics of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina assembled from January 26 to 28 at the Thirty-Ninth Theological-Pastoral Week for Priests at the Boys#! Seminary on Šalata in Zagreb. The topic was “Pastoral Marriage and Family Counseling,” with a motto by the Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac: “The initial foundation of the nation and mankind is undoubtedly the family.”
“There cannot be a strong and happy Croatia without strong, physically and morally healthy, and content Croatian families. These cannot exist without upright morally and physically healthy individuals, without healthy and worthy children … Despite assertations that there is a shortage of bread, I believe that Croatia can afford bread for its children, but only if there is honor and the fear of God,” stated Archbishop Josip Bozanić of Zagreb, chancellor of the Catholic Faculty of Theology which organized this event, in his opening remarks. In reference to the preparations for the Great Jubilee Year 2000, Archbishop Bozanić said, “A fresh and clear proclamation of the fundamental content of our faith is required. There is a need for the Church in our society to re-explain what the Church is, what its mission is. It is necessary for us to discover the theological virtue of hope, so that we will not be people of the past but of the future. This fundamental attitude of hope leads us to the final goal, to eternal life.”
During the three-day event, many family topics were covered, including the contemporary concept and experience of marriage, children receiving inadequate love within the family, dangers to the contemporary family from genetic engineering, and contemporary trials of the New Testament vision of marriage and the family.
As emphasized by the president of the Council for the Family of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Bishop Valter Župan of Krk, the family is the first and most important path. Today it must endure various tensions permeated with social and economic ills. In Croatia, there are 48 associations and movements engaged in the preservation of life.
The lecturers pointed out that changes affecting the concept and understanding of marriage and the family are the consequences of the modernization of society. Increasing numbers of couples are living together without marriage certificates. There are increasing numbers of divorces and childless marriages. All the traditional concepts of marriage are being lost because marriage is increasingly perceived as an institution in which freedom and personal identity are lost. Some of the causes cited for the misgivings toward marriage and the establishment of families were the modernization of society, the changing roles and independence of the woman in society, liberalization and the spiritual milieu.
Also cited were the external challenges recently encountered by families in these regions that have been exacerbated by political interests who see ostensible benefits in relocating populations from their native villages and cities. Since the beginning of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina up to the present, 1,440,000 persons, i.e. 400,000, families have been forced to leave their homes. The situation in the Sarajevo Archdiocese is particularly grave, where 471,000 from a previous population of 626,000 Croats have been forced to leave, as well as in the Banja Luka Diocese where 2/3 of the Croatian population have been expelled. The Church feels great responsibility in this matter and is doing whatever it can to help, e.g. providing assistance to relocated families. The Church has issued a statement that these expulsions have been organized and condemns the humanitarian organizations that assist families to relocate to other countries and continents. In order to find solutions to these problems, it is necessary to examine all the conditions, especially the sociological questions.
Nevertheless, statistical data indicate an increase in the total number of new marriages during the past several years. For example, in 1991 there were 21,583 new marriages in Croatia, while in 1997 this number reached 24,517. On an average, 1 in 5 or 6 marriages in Croatia end in divorce but research has shown that young people have increasingly positive expectations toward marriage. Therefore, the importance of prenuptial pastoral counseling was emphasized, which must be part of total education from early childhood and youth, long-term preparation, as well as extensive and systematic preparation for engaged couples, including immediate prenuptial preparation.
Also attending the Theological-Pastoral Week organized and led by priests from the Catholic Church were the president of the Meshihat of the Islamic Community in the Republic of Croatia, Ševko Omerbašić; representatives of the Evangelical Church, Baptist Church, and Serbian Orthodox Church; the vice president of the Government of Croatia and Minister of Renewal and Development, Dr. Jure Radić, and other figures of political and cultural life.