Zagreb, September 8, 2003 (IKA) — On Monday, September 8, representatives of Croatian Caritas and the Franciscan Institute for the Culture of Peace presented a petition signed by 300,000 Croatian citizens to Premier Ivica Račan with the goal of changing the law regarding stores working on Sundays. The petition was presented to Premier Račan by the president of Croatian Caritas and vice president of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Ivan Prenđa of Zadar, who was accompanied by the heads of Croatian Caritas, Prof. Mario Bebić, and the Franciscan Institute for the Culture of Peace, Fra Bože Vuleta. Archbishop Prenđa informed the Croatian premier and his associates that this petition was intended to influence the legislators, and requested changes in the vague wording of the law regarding work on Sundays. The government position is that work on Sundays should be discouraged but not forbidden, said Premier Račan at the meeting, pointing out that in addition to the existing measures, it also would be necessary to consider further measures to discourage work on Sundays. It is possible to discourage work on Sundays with rigorous enforcement of the law, control and penalties for employers who violate the law. However, the stipulations of the law will not mean anything until they are applied in practice, concluded both sides. After the meeting with Premier Račan, Archbishop Prenđa expressed satisfaction concerning his meeting with the premier in a statement to the press. According to the archbishop of Zadar, the premier expressed support for what the organizers of the campaign had done and indicated that regarding the government he would support that which he feels is within his competence to discourage stores from working on Sundays. In the discussion, Archbishop Prenđa also mentioned disagreements with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) regarding this matter, and expressed the hope that everything will fall into place, noting that the campaign made it possible for little people to be heard, the sole intention of the organizers of the campaign.

In the letter that Archbishop Prenđa presented to Premier Račan, the organizers of the campaign by Croatian Caritas and the Franciscan Institute for the Culture of Peace called attention to violations of human and religious rights and blatant violations of positive regulations: the right to weekly rest, the right to fair compensation for work performed, the right to overtime pay, the right to compensation for work on nonworking days and holidays etc. It was mentioned that the initiative received support from the public and a large majority (75%) of employers, as well as other relevant institutions and organizations: unions, the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, the Merchants Guild and many other guilds, as well as some government institutions such as the Ministry of Trades, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Ministry of Tourism and the great majority parliamentary party caucuses. This initiative, explained the archbishop, is in accordance with the social doctrine of the Church and the rights guaranteed to all citizens in a democratic society regarding participation in the life of the society. The Church sees and takes into account numerous changes in the contemporary society but cannot support any changes that compromise fundamental human rights and directly or indirectly place human dignity and general human values at risk, explained the archbishop in the letter, adding that under the existing circumstances, it should be mentioned that people are afraid to fight for their rights individually or in an organized manner because in many cases employers threaten to fire them. In the letter to Premier Račan, Archbishop Prenđa pointed out the need to change and amend the law regarding stores working on Sundays in order to eliminate vague wording in the existing law.