Zagreb, (IKA) – The bishops of the Croatian Conference of Bishops issued a message regarding the forthcoming local elections to the faithful and all people of good will, urging them to fulfill their civic and Christian duty and participate in the elections, but also to weigh carefully according their consciences to whom they will entrust their votes for the offices of county prefect, municipal head, mayor and representative in bodies of local self-management. “To participate in political life and contribute to the general good is the basic right and duty of all citizens. Therefore, we urge you to approach the elections with moral and social awareness and responsibility, because in this way you will make an effective contribution to the continued development of our Homeland. We cannot determine how someone will vote but we can recommend that the faithful vote first of all for those candidates who clearly represent values and attitudes imbued with Christian doctrine and testimony,” state the bishops in their message.
Although these are only the local elections, the candidates’ positions have a wider significance than the local administration, emphasize the bishops, who urge the faithful to choose those who represent the Christian anthropological principles of truth and justice, who defend and protect human life, and who promote the dignity of marriage and the family. They explain that this is not only a matter of the organization of public life in a given locality but also a multitude of open questions regarding education, solidarity with the most vulnerable and the promotion of culture. “Christians cannot accept political positions that represent or justify any totalitarian system whatsoever or are inspired by their principles, which are ruinous for the Croatian nation and people. Particularly unacceptable are candidates who negate, mitigate or remain silent regarding the truth about the responsibilities of the perpetrators of the horrendous communist crimes after the Second World War. Therefore, the believer will give his vote to the candidate who supports peace, justice and the truth about the Croatian past and the Homeland War. Moreover, the believer will choose those who represent the value of a non-working Sunday, and it is justifiable to expect candidates to fight against drugs and all addiction, bribery and corruption, pornography and prostitution,” explain the bishops.
Commenting that over a third of the citizens did not exercise their civil right to vote in the last parliamentary elections (2007), the bishops’ message emphasizes that they feel the duty to point out that such behavior is not congruent with responsibility for public activity and the common good, as urged in Church documents. The bishops state that the forthcoming direct elections of the office holders of the units of local self-management extend the democratic influence and role of the citizens in the formation of the local authorities, thereby contributing to the general democratization of the society. They further point out that the Church appreciates the democratic system to the extent to which it facilitates the broad participation of citizens in political decisions in order to elect the best persons who will contribute to the betterment of the society.
In the message, they emphasize that voters in the democratization process not only have a civil obligation but also a moral obligation and duty to participate in the elections, in order to achieve the common good. This is, in their words, an important public event for which the citizens and candidates should prepare themselves. The bishops state that citizens are obliged to learn about the programs offered, as well as the candidates who are on the ballots for the representative bodies of local self-management. “Direct elections of leaders make it possible for the people to become acquainted with the candidates in regarding their professionalism and morality, to see whether they accept the values of the dignity of the individual and human rights, and especially whether they accept the Christian values of respect for life and the family, its rights and values in connection with the Christian faith and the tradition of our nation. Therefore, every citizen who cares about the progress of his community will make the effort to become acquainted with the programs and persons who are candidates in the elections. The mass media have an important role in this because they must objectively and comprehensively inform the people, not only in terms of the quantity of information but also its quality, particularly its accessibility, freedom, morality and objectivity. The society has the right to be informed based upon truth, justice and solidarity, and without free mass media there is no objective information,” concluded the bishops.