Split, October 4, 1998 (IKA) — At the formal ceremonies on the occasion of the departure of Pope John Paul II from the Resnik Airport in Split, the President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Franjo Tuđman, thanked the Holy Father for making this Second Pastoral Visit to Croatia, emphasizing that the Pope had strengthened us in faith and convinced us that we can look upon our achievements with pride and build our future with confidence. “Your messages, with your prayers and blessings, will be, Your Holiness, a shining beacon in building a sound society,” said Dr. Tuđman, adding that “the raising of the martyr and patriot, Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, to the honor of the altar, at the magnificent Solemn Mass in Marija Bistrica, expressed God#!s love and recognition of him, but also recognition of the Croatian people, a reward for everything that the Croatian people endured together with him in the communist hell.” The Croatian President pointed out that at the same time that “history has judged” in favor of Cardinal Stepinac, his beatification encourages the Croatian nation to persevere on “on its path of preserving the freedom of Croatia in a community of all Croats with the Roman Vicar of Christ,” in which “Stepinac#!s life calling, fulfilled to the Glory of God and the blessing of Croatia,” will eternally give the Croatian nation “strength to endure the most severe trials.”
President Tuđman particularly thanked the Holy Father for his words of encouragement and messages addressed to young people, “to be illuminated by faith and guided by love, in order to escape the dangers of fleeting pleasures and the vice of the civilization of decadence, for which they, their parents and the entire society would suffer.”
Noting that the Croatian people in Zagreb, Marija Bistrica, Split and Solin had expressed profound and sincere emotions, as well as trust and confidence toward his person and his Catholic Church, President Tuđman said that this “obligates and inspires the Croatian sociopolitical leadership and myself personally to new initiatives in cultivating and maintaining the already excellent relations with the Holy See and the Church among the Croats, in order to build a Croatian society upon the principles of Christian civilization.” Emphasizing how Catholicism throughout its entire history, despite numerous wars, conflicts and controversial questions, always conveyed hope in progress, supporting justice, respect for the individual as a person, and the nation as an essential component of human society, President Tuđman expressed confidence that the Holy See will continue, as the highest moral authority in today#!s world, by its long-reaching and prudent policy to serve as a genuine beacon in the building of future relations in international life.”
“The name of Karol Wotyla, Pope John Paul II, will remain inscribed in history in golden letters as the person and the Vicar of Christ who contributed the most for peace and the betterment of mankind. At the most crucial period, you provided the Croats with whole-hearted support in realizing their dream of many centuries,” emphasized the Croatian President. On behalf of the entire Croatian nation, the President addressed the Pope as “a dear guest and friend, who in our nation, by raising the cardinal and martyr Stepinac to the honor of the altar of the beatified, has strengthened our faith, pride and faith in the future.
“Holy Father, we pray to the Almighty that you are given many more years to lead the Catholic Church for the benefit of all people and the Glory of God and peace-loving nations. I thank you on my own behalf and on behalf of the entire Croatian nation,” said President Tuđman.