Zagreb, (IKA) — A memorial volume by Dr. Vjekoslav Saravanja, Ten Thousand Children without Parents in the Aftermath of the War in Croatia [10.000 djece bez roditelja u Domovinskom ratu], which contains information about the children of dead or missing Croatian defenders in the recent war, was presented on Wednesday, October 2, in the main auditorium of the Society of Jesus on Palmoticeva Street in Zagreb. A volume of nearly one thousand pages, it is divided into five thematic sections. The author writes about the Family Center and the Croatian Action for Life, the Croatian struggle for an independent country and ongoing defense, data on the children of dead and missing Croatian defenders in the recent war in Croatia, data on the supplement to the list of the child victims in the recent war according to information from the Ministry of the Veterans of the Republic of Croatia, and presents godparents of the wards of the Family Center and Croatian Action for Life.
The editor-in-chief of the Croatian weekly Catholic newspaper Glas Koncila, Msgr. Ivan Miklenic, spoke about the position of the Church regarding the situation during the war and presented appeals sent by the Croatian bishops to politicians and world figures, as well as their appeals to the people for forgiveness and reconciliation. The Church, according to Msgr. Miklenic, was principled under these circumstances, in line with the Gospels and the welfare of every person.
The Biblical-moral view regarding child victims of the recent war in Croatia was presented by Dr. Valentin Pozaic, professor of moral theology at the College of Liberal Arts of the Society of Jesus in Zagreb. Among other things, Fr. Pozaic said that Jesus had shown an exceptional closeness to children and issued a sharp warning regarding failure to respect the dignity of the child.
The president of the Croatian Victimology Association, Dr. Zvonimir Separovic, said that this exceptional volume is a genuine victimological, analytical work on the most extremely sensitive form of human suffering. Children are the most vulnerable and most exposed population afflicted by war, warned Dr. Separovic, noting that investigations have shown that time does not heal the spiritual wounds and profound traumas that children experience. The author spoke about the origin of the book, pointing out that over 5,000 parent victims are presented.