Sarajevo, (IKA) – On May 31, in anticipation of Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic visit to Croatia on June 4 and 5, which will have the motto “Together in Christ,” the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić, spoke on Croatian Catholic Radio and Radio MIR Međugorje.
“I am happy that Benedict XVI is coming to Croatia for the first time in his office as Pope. I think that his arrival will be a meaningful message for the Croatian nation, whether in Croatia or in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a special way, I am happy about the theme of the celebration of Family Day, which he is coming to celebrate. I think that this is a positive reality which, I fear, the people of Croatia do not appreciate sufficiently,” said Cardinal Puljić.
He also noted that numerous pilgrims from Bosnia and Herzegovina have already registered and obtained tickets for the Prayer Vigil with the Pope on Ban Jelačić Square and the celebration of the Mass at the Zagreb Hippodrome, and that many parishes are organizing bus transportation. Cardinal Puljić urged the media “in its electronic coverage or in the press, to make this powerful event present in all our families so that it will reverberate as deeply as possible as spiritual renewal and the renewal of faith, and in some way heal public opinion, which is quite sick of negativity.” The Archbishop of Sarajevo expressed the hope that the media “will genuinely bring something positive into a climate that is fairly wearing. We need something that will bring joy.”