Statement to the Media by Cardinal Josip Bozanić Following the Consistory

Rome, October 21, 2003 (IKA) — Following today’s public consistory on St. Peter’s Square in Rome at which Cardinal Josip Bozanić was inducted into the College of Cardinals, he met with journalists, including IKA’s correspondent Aldo Sinković, whom he thanked for coming and covering this celebration “which is a celebration of the Universal Church . . . We experienced this in a particular way today on St. Peter’s Square, but this is otherwise experienced regularly when the Pope celebrates Mass here or some other form of worship,” explained the new Croatian cardinal. When asked how he was feeling, he answered: “Pleasant . . . I saw so many people, especially our Croats who came to Rome for this occasion. I saw that they are pleased and thus how could I not be pleased,” he said. When asked if he considers himself a candidate in the conclaves for the Pope, Cardinal Bozanić said: “We pray for the Pope that God allows him to live as long as possible.” In a conversation with Italian and other foreign journalists, the cardinal noted that this is a great day for Croatia. “We are all very happy, especially because in Croatia the population is 87% Catholic,” he explained. When asked what had changed in his life, Cardinal Bozanić responded: “Since it is always in the service of God, nothing has changed in that sense, but this appointment is also important for Croatia and demonstrates the bond between Croatia and the Holy See. This appointment is a new obligation within the Church.” During the afternoon, the cardinal will receive congratulations from family members, friends and Church dignitaries in a room of the Pope Paul VI hall, and in the evening at the Croatian National Church of St. Jerome he will greet pilgrims who will assemble there.