"What do i expect from my Church?"

Zagreb, March 14, 1998 (IKA) – “What do I expect from my Church?” was the topic of lectures by prof. Mirko Djordjevic of Belgrade and Dr. Annamaria Gruenfelder of Zagreb, held as part of the third series of lectures on the topic of reconciliation at the Augustin Kazotic Auditorium of the Dominican monastery in Zagreb on Friday, March 13. “It looks simple, slightly utopian, but the idea of reconciliation and forgiveness is not simple. It is not simple to respond to the question of what I expect from my Church, but we are obliged to respond because with the coming millennium, a new time will come for the Church. I hope, expect and pray that my Serbian Orthodox Church will understand that our spiritual center is in Jerusalem and that we must build unity, that our eternal historical center is in Rome and that the Holy Spirit is in the Churches that obey the commandments of Our Lord #!for all to be as one.#! Enclosing oneself within narrow national boundaries and belief in the tribal myths of small communities are imbued with the spirit of the anti-Christ. The only true path is the path of ecumenicism, as Christ himself commands,” said Prof. Djordjevic. Dr. Gruenfelder spoke from the perspective of the victim, pointing out that the Catholic Church in Croatia, even during the war, urged the victims to forgive their enemies in a Christian manner and abstain from all retaliation and revenge. “The Church prescribed high ethical standards for individuals while the government recognized that the government had the right and even the obligation to establish justice. Consequently, the government should abstain from violence exceeding the boundary of necessary defense.” Regarding history of Serbian and Croatian relations, Dr. Gruenfelder said, “Today#!s young generation will justifiably reject any connection whatsoever with the crimes of the past. However, the past can act upon and influence the present and determine the future. A #!dialogue of love#! should open the path toward a #!dialogue of truth.#!” The most significant role that both Churches can offer their nations is to show the religious population that remorse and forgiveness do not make people vulnerable and subjugated, do not destroy self-confidence and individuality, but establish and promote dignity, teaching people to stand behind their acts. Thus, people will once again be able to look each other in the eye and stop affixing labels to each other, said Dr. Gruenfelder, a doctor of theology and employee of the Austrian Embassy in Zagreb. After the lectures, discussion lasted one hour, led by the Rev. Franjo Prcela, the moderator for the lecture series on reconciliation.