The 46th Plenary Session of the Croatian Conference of Bishops was held from April 9 to 11, 2013, at the headquarters of the CCB in Zagreb. The participants included the Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Croatia, Archbishop Alessandro D’Errico; and delegates from other bishops’ conferences: the Military Ordinary of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bishop Tomo Vukšić; the Slovenian Bishop of Novo Mesto, Msgr. Andrej Glavan; Archbishop Stanislav Hočevar of Belgrade representing the International Bishops’ Conference of SS. Cyril and Methodius; Bishop Ivan Penzeš of of Subotica and Bishop Đuro Gašparović of Srijem.
Welcoming the participants, the President of the CCB, Archbishop Želimir Puljić of Zadar, spoke about the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis. He referred to a letter that he sent to the Pope Emeritus on behalf of the CCB, in which he wrote that the bishops accept his decision with respect and recognize it as a great act of love for God’s Church. Noting that the election of the new Pope was a real surprise, the President of the CCB called attention to one of the new Pope’s first gestures, when from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica he asked the faithful to pray to the Lord for him, thereby expressing great awe for the office he has accepted.
During the working portion of the session, Cardinal Josip Bozanić spoke about the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis. He referred to the wording of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s abdication and pointed out that this act reflected his responsibility and humility. Cardinal Bozanić noted that the Pope Emeritus has chosen the path of withdrawal, silence, prayer and reflection, and in this way continues to serve the Church. Among other things, the Cardinal commented on the great media interest in everything that has happened recently in the center of the Catholic Church, which shows that the Papal office has great importance in the modern world that exceeds its earthly boundaries and essentially involves the dimension of faith. In this sense, Pope Francis and his election should primarily be viewed through the eyes of faith.
From the session, the bishops sent a joint letter to Pope Francis, in which they congratulated him on his election, expressed their respect and loyalty, and noted the centuries-old ties and allegiance of Croatian Catholics to the Successor of St. Peter.
Bishop Dražen Kutleša of Poreč and Pula acquainted the bishops with preparations for the celebration of the beatification of the martyred priest Miroslav Bulešić, who was killed in Lanišće, Istria, by the communists in 1947. The celebration of the Eucharist and beatification will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2013, at 11 a.m. in the Pula Arena. The faithful from all over Croatia together with their priests are invited to come to Pula for this great celebration. The bishops decided that this year’s pilgrimage of priests will be connected with the beatification of Miroslav Bulešić. In order to acquaint the public with the person and work of the future beatus, several books have already been published and documentary films are being prepared as well as other materials to be sent to the parishes.
The Croatian bishops reaffirmed the importance of the activity of the laity in the Church and society, and discussed several current challenges in this area. They emphasized the importance of respecting the ecclesial criteria for organizations of laity as defined by the Blessed Pope John Paul II in the Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, in the light of which the lay organizations in the Church should be assessed. These criteria give priority to the vocation of every Christian to holiness, responsibility in the profession of the faith of the Church in obedience to the Church’s Magisterium, testimony to the steadfast and confident communion with the Pope and local bishop, congruence with and sharing in the apostolate of the Church and, in this sense, active participation in the new evangelization and making evangelical values present in society. The members of the CCB supported an initiative for a network of Catholic laity, aimed at connecting and animating lay Catholics for more active involvement in the Church and society.

The bishops devoted particular attention to the topic of marriage and family counseling centers. In the 11 Croatian (arch)dioceses, today there are 18 such counseling centers with a total of 22 staff members. As pointed out by Bishop Valter Župan, President of the Council of the CCB for Life and the Family, in the past 20 years approximately 47,000 people have passed through these counseling centers, 12,500 couples have received marriage counseling and 16,500 families have received family counseling. In order to improve the activities of the marriage and family counseling centers and address the growing needs in this area, it was said that in the future it would be necessary to work on their internal Church and social connections, verification of the educational credentials of the existing counselors and the training of new ones, and the adoption of Regulations in order to define the manner of their establishment and activity more precisely. The bishops were also familiarized with the first national study days for marriage and family counselors and their associates, to be held on April 19 and 20, 2013, in Zadar, which will have approximately 200 participants. The main topics of the study days will be the “Theology of the Body” and “Gospel of Life.”
Also discussed at the session were amendments to the Regulations on the Organization and Operation of the Military Ordinariate in the Republic of Croatia. The bishops expressed their support for all the efforts toward the clear definition of the status of the Military Ordinariate, while calling for respect of the contract between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia on pastoral ministry to the Catholic faithful, armed forces and police forces of the Republic of Croatia.
The most recent document issued by the Congregation for the Clergy, the Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, was presented by Bishop Vjekoslav Huzjak, President of the Council of the CCB for the Clergy, who noted that the directory is intended to help every priest deepen his own identity, vocation and spiritual life, and provide incentive for ongoing formation and a point of reference for a rich and authentic apostolate in order to benefit the Church and the whole world.
Regarding the upcoming elections of members of the European Parliament from the Republic of Croatia, to be held on April 14, 2013, and the local elections, the bishops urge the faithful to vote and in this way exercise their civil rights and fulfill their responsibility, thereby contributing to the common good and expressing their love of homeland. Elections should be approached prudently and responsibly. This primarily involves becoming informed about the programs and persons, which should be evaluated in the light of the principles of the gospel. We find ourselves in a time of great challenges on the global level and on the eve of accession to the European Union, requiring wise, competent and ethical administration by the responsible authorities for the benefit of the whole community. In this sense, it is important who will represent our homeland interests in the European Parliament because their decisions will greatly determine our present and future. Therefore, the importance of electing people who will courageously and boldly defend Christian principles is stressed, and in this spirit, among other things, advocate the safeguarding of human life from conception to natural death, the dignity of marriage and the family, the right of parents to decide on the upbringing of their children, social justice, the right of all to work and a life of dignity, and the promotion of the rich culture and spiritual heritage of the Croatian nation in the Central European institutions.
The bishops were also informed about preparations for the symposium “Martyrs and Their Impact in Croatia’s Past,” to be organized by the Commissions of the Croatian Conference of Bishops and the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Croatian martyrology in cooperation with colleges of theology.
The members of the CCB support continued work on the general regulations for Catholic religious instruction and education in Croatia, and on guidelines for dealing with cases of the sexual abuse of minors.
The presidents and heads of the individual commissions, councils, committees and institutions of the CCB submitted reports on their areas of activity. At the session, the need to reorganize the offices and institutions of the CCB was stressed.

Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops