Varaždin, (IKA) – A plenary session of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, chaired by the Archbishop of Đakovo-Osijek and President of the CCB, Msgr. Marin Srakić, was held from October 18 to 20 in Varaždin. The following guests participated in the session: the Apostolic Nuncio in the Republic of Croatia, Msgr. Mario Roberto Cassari; the Bishop of Srijem, Msgr. Đuro Gašparović; the delegate from the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Auxiliary Bishop Marko Semren; and the Bishop of Subotica, Msgr. Ivan Penzes.
The President of the CCB noted that since the last regular session, the Holy Father Benedict XVI had visited Croatia and that a special session devoted to this visit was held on July 12. In addition, he spoke about the completion of the renovation of the pilgrimage church of Our Lady of Voćin, the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the Eucharistic miracle in Ludbreg, the dedication of the Church of the Croatian Martyrs in Udbina and the beatification of the Drina martyrs in Sarajevo.
Archbishop Srakić also said that following the special session in July, there were difficult days full of challenges for our Church in connection with the Dajla case.
During the working portion of the session, the first presentation on the topic of the new evangelization and missions in the capitals of Europe was delivered by Cardinal Josip Bozanić. He said that the new evangelization is the implementation of the missionary calling of the Church and consists of approaching those who have drifted away from the Church and lost their Christian identity, as well as the immigrants on our continent who are not Christians. All of this requires radical pastoral and existential changes, stressed the cardinal, cautioning of the challenges to the Church and society by the new evangelization. As the bearers of the new evangelization, Cardinal Bozanić mentioned the family, Catholic schools and various movements and communities. There is disagreement regarding who are the primary target groups for the new evangelization but certainly the family, young people and the media have priority, emphasized the cardinal and concluded that there is no new evangelization without openness toward the work of the Holy Spirit, for which it is necessary to pray constantly. The cardinal then presented a specific initiative in the area of the new evangelization by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. Namely, during this pastoral year, especially during Lent 2012, Mission Metropolis will take place in 12 European capital cities: Zagreb, Barcelona, Vienna, Budapest, Brussels, Dublin, Cologne, Lisbon, Liverpool, Paris, Turin and Warsaw. The originality of the initiative is in the unity of the local churches and the simultaneous fulfilling of its mission and issuing of concrete signs, which will start in the cathedrals. These signs rely on the word of God and the continuous reading of the Holy Scripture, particularly the Gospel according to Mark. Then there will be diocesan youth catechesis, celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation, charitable campaigns and topics of spirituality and culture connected with the works of St. Augustine. The initiative will come from the cathedrals, due to their great symbolic significance, from which it will spread to the parishes. The intention is to enter deeper into the living faith, affect all areas of life and discover everything that faith brings into our lives.
A presentation at the session on the pastoral-legal provisions regarding Masses for special intentions was given by Dr. Slavko Zec, a professor at the Faculty of Theology in Rijeka.
The second day of the session began with the case of Dajla. The bishops agreed upon a statement in which they manifested their love, respect, devotion and obedience to the Holy Father, thanking him for the attention he had personally devoted to the events connected with the relations between the Benedictines and the parish of Dajla. The bishops supported the strong desire of the Holy See for the unexpected difficulties that had arisen to be gradually resolved through an approach of effective community and fraternal Church cooperation.
Regarding the pastoral emphasis of the Pope’s speeches during his fourth visit to Croatia on June 4 and 5, there was a presentation by a professor from the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Đakovo, Msgr. Luka Marijanović. He analyzed all the Pope’s speeches and particularly stressed the incentives that issue from them. At the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb, said Msgr. Marijanović, among other things, the Pope cautioned that the society and, thereby, the culture depend upon conscience. A society without a conscience is no longer a society that is based upon truth, good and justice. In the Pope’s remarks to families, he warned that the crisis of the family is a crisis of God. The family has ceased to be a “little Church,” does not pray or celebrate the sacraments. A rebirth of the family will only occur if the family opens itself to God.
At the session, the Pastoral Guidelines for the Apostolate of the Lay Faithful in the Church and Society were accepted and guidelines were proposed for the Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to be held in Rome from October 7 to 28, 2012, on the topic New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. A special session of the CCB will be held on January 23, 2012. The regular plenary sessions in 2012 will be held in Zagreb from April 17 to 19 and from October 17 to 19.
The bishops once again urged young people to prepare for the National Youth Encounter and attend in large numbers. The National Youth Encounter will be held in Sisak from May 5 to 6, 2012. The second colloquium for priests on pastoral catechesis will be held from March 6 to 7, 2012, in Zagreb.
On November 18, 2011, there will be a commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of Vukovar and a Day of Remembrance for the victims. On this occasion, the celebration of the Eucharist will be conducted by Archbishop Vinko Cardinal Puljić of Sarajevo.
The presidents of the individual bodies of the CCB submitted reports on their areas of activity. Delegates were appointed from the CCB to attend the sessions of other bishops’ conferences in 2012, according to a statement issued by the Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops.