Zagreb, (IKA) – A meeting of the Council for Life and the Family of the Croatian Conference of Bishops was held on Saturday, August 24, at the headquarters of the Croatian Conference of Bishops in Zagreb, under the chairmanship of the Bishop of Krk, Msgr. Valter Župan. The meeting was convened to review the recently released Draft of the Family Act, and also to discuss the results of a completed public discussion on the arguments concerning the Family Act and the Social Welfare Act, to which the members of the Council had contributed, according to a statement from the Press Office of the Croatian Conference of Bishops. After introductory prayers and greetings by Bishop Župan, the Council members were familiarized in detail with the results of the public discussion of the arguments of the Family Act and the Social Welfare Act, which were published on the website of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth. Regarding the review by the Croatian Conference of Bishops of the theses of the Family Act, the Council members noted that for every item, together with a short or long explanation, it was written whether it was accepted or not, together with a criticism or proposal. This would indicate that every item had been considered. Nonetheless, the Council members were astonished that the proposals had not been accepted, that the observation was not accepted that the sustainability of marriage is important not only for the good of children but also for spouses and the entire society, and that a clear emphasis on the priority of the preservation of marriage is lacking, both in the preventive and curative senses.
The Council members were especially unpleasantly surprised that the public debate on the Draft was conducted at a time when most citizens were on their annual vacations, despite the fact that the criticisms of the Croatian Conference of Bishops were received. Evidence of this is that on the day of when the arguments were presented, on the website of the Ministry it was stated that the Draft should be debated until September 15, 2013. Taking into account the size of the document (the Draft together with explanations has a total of 318 pages), the extent of the changes in comparison to the current Family Act, with which it must be compared and most importantly the crucial importance of this law, the Council members are of the opinion that the debate on the Draft should be extended at least to the end of September. A conclusion was reached on the manner and dynamics of compiling criticisms of the Draft of the Family Act. Considering the fate of the criticisms by the Croatian Conference of Bishops regarding the theses of the Draft of the Family Act, the Council members were surprised that the proponent of the Draft had rejected them all, apparently only commenting on the introductory principled objections regarding the generality of the published theses, and that the remaining very concrete and constructive objections and proposals were not taken into account at all. In addition, unlike the other comments directed to the theses of the Family Act, the criticism of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, unlike those of any other legal or natural persons, were not published in their entirely. Therefore, the interested public cannot obtain insight into their justification and argumentation.
Dr. Petar-Krešimir Hodžić, Head of the Office for Life and the Family of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, informed the Council members during the meeting of news and current events. There was a brief discussion on the completed translation of a study guide for the theology of the body in parish student groups, the situation concerning the introduction of health education, the European civil initiative “One of Us,” that will be organized at the European level on September 22, and the Rite for the Blessing of the Child in the Womb in the English language, which the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments of the Holy See approved for the United States Conference of Bishops in December 2011.