Statement by the Justitia et Pax Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops
Zagreb
The Commission expressed concern over the raising of energy prices and utility fees, especially water, which is a basic prerequisite for life, and disagreement with the public diminishing of the symbolic value of Bleiburg.
Zagreb, (IKA) – The Justitia et Pax Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, chaired by the president of the Commission, Bishop Vlado Košić of Sisak, held a regular session on May 16 in the building of the Croatian Conference of Bishops in Zagreb, reports the Press Office of the CCB.
Regarding the current issues in our society, the Commission expressed concern over the raising of energy prices and utility fees, especially water, which is a basic prerequisite for life. The Commission recalled that in previous statements, it had supported providing access to a social minimum without charge due, on one side, to the inseparability of access to water from the basic human right to life, and on the other side, precisely because Croatia belongs to the circle of countries with the richest water reserves.
Furthermore, the Commission expressed disagreement with the public diminishing of the symbolic value of Bleiburg as a symbol of the suffering of the Croatian people from communist terror at the end of the Second World War and the postwar period. This is confusing to the Croatian public, as are changes made in the commemoration of national holidays with the goal of erasing the historical memory of the Croatian nation. The Commission supports and invites all people of good will, especially the faithful, to express their commitment to life by signing the Declaration on the Protection of the Beginning of Human Life and the Rights of the Child on the Sundays of May 20 and 27. In the light of the values of justice and peace, the Commission discussed problems concerning the reform of public administration, the protection of public goods and the vital sectors of public activity in the economy, with particular emphasis on the need for a skilled, professional, efficient and competitive state administration and public sector, and the conservation of natural resources and network systems for the benefit of citizens and all generations. In this connection, the Commission announced the forthcoming publication of a statement that will deal with the topic of the protection of the public interest and inalienability of public property in a particular way, says the statement signed by the president of the Commission, Bishop Vlado Košić of Sisak.