Zagreb, (IKA) – At the March 14 session of the Permanent Council of the Croatian Conference of Bishops held in Zagreb, current developments in the Croatian society were addressed with concern. Aware of the gravity of the situation, the bishops urge politicians, businesspersons, the media and all other responsible factors in our homeland to contribute to the preservation of peace, stability and the consolidation of unity among our people, in order for us to overcome all the present trials together. “We find ourselves at a crucial time when it is necessary to maintain sanity and sobriety, strengthen solidarity and multiply prayers for the gifts of reason and wisdom, because we are facing important decisions that will determine our long-term future,” emphasize the members of the Permanent Council of the CCB, who urge all people of good will to become more aware of their shared responsibility for the common good of their people and country.
The main items on the agenda of the session were preparations for the visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the Republic of Croatia and the program of the Forty-Second Plenary Session of the CCB. The members of the Permanent Council have been informed about the activities undertaken in preparation for the Pope’s visit, with particular reference to the meeting of the Holy Father with representatives of cultural, scientific and public life at the Croatian National Theater, the meeting with young people on Ban Josip Jelačić Square and the celebration of the Mass at the Hippodrome as part of the National Encounter of Croatian Catholic Families. During the session, the topics to be discussed at the Forty-Second Plenary Session of the CCB, to be held from March 29 to 31 in Zagreb, were defined. The session was presided over by the President of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Marin Srakić of Đakovo-Osijek, at the Secretariat of the CCB, and attended by the other members of the Permanent Council: the Vice President of the CCB, Archbishop Josip Cardinal Bozanić of Zagreb, Archbishop Marin Barišić of Split-Makarska, Archbishop Ivan Devčić of Rijeka, the General Secretary of the CCB, Msgr. Enco Rodinis and the Deputy General Secretary of the CCB, Fabijan Svalina, according to a statement issued by the Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops.