Zagreb (IKA) – On October 31 in the premises of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, the president of the CCB, Archbishop Cardinal Josip Bozanić of Zagreb, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Ivo Sanader, signed the Contract on Pastoral Care in Hospitals, Other Healthcare Institutions and Social Welfare Institutions and the Agreement on the Return of Church Registries, Chronicles and Other Books that were illegally confiscated during the communist regime from the Catholic Church. The act of signing was witnessed by, among others, Bishop Antun Škorčević of Požega; the general secretary of the CCB, Msgr. Vjekoslav Huzjak; and ministers of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Dragan Primorac and Božo Biškupić, M.S.

After the signing, Cardinal Bozanić issued a statement in which he pointed out that the signed Contract and Agreement are connected with the contracts between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia. He explained that through the implementation of individual contracts and subcontracts, that which these international contracts have already determined will be concretized and implemented. “This is an act in the series of the implementation of the Contracts between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia. This fact testifies to the increasingly higher level of democracy in Croatia, because democracy begins with agreements and the honoring of that which is agreed. This is on the path desired by the entire Republic of Croatia, and with it the Church in Croatia, i.e. toward a higher level of the legal system and the implementation of legal provisions in our region. “I thank the prime minister and his associates for the implementation of this act,” said Cardinal Bozanić.

Prime Minister Sanader, speaking about the return of Church registries, pointed out that this is a step in which the moral obligation toward the Church after 1945, when these books were confiscated, is being fulfilled. “This is a small civilized step that means a lot because it is ‘rehabilitation’ of those values that we have all cultivated, and which were eradicated during the communist regime. In the relations between the State and Church, we want to do everything that we have signed to do in the Contracts with the Holy See. I do not think that these contracts are bad, as some think, and that they must be implemented because they are signed, but I think that they are good and that the Croatian state will do everything to honor them. I am particularly pleased that we have signed the Contract on Pastoral Care in Hospitals and Other Social Institutions. Croatian citizens of the Catholic faith now have the opportunity to receive all the sacraments and everything else to which they are entitled as believers and I consider this to be a civilized step. If the need arises for pastoral care in hospitals among members of other religious confessions, Croatia will try to meet it,” stated Dr. Sanader.

Following the statements by Cardinal Bozanić and Prime Minister Sanader, the journalists present asked several questions. In response to a question about not working on Sundays, Dr. Sanader said that not working on Sunday is a correct path. The law that was passed about not working on Sundays was annulled, as he explained, due to some unconstitutional provisions of that law. The Government has used this time in order for the unions, employers and experts on constitutional law to consider how “to find a solution that someone will not once again declare unconstitutional at the constitutional court,” explained the prime minister, adding that Croatian Caritas had been contacted in the preparation of the law, and served in an advisory capacity. By the end of this week or next week, a law on procedure will be sent to the Government, and then to the Parliament. The goal is for this law to be passed by the end of the autumn session of the Parliament, i.e. by December 15, noted Dr. Sanader.
On this topic, Cardinal Bozanić said that the Church wants with its positions and engagement to take account of the weakest persons whose voices are sometimes unheard. “Also in the first campaign, we were particularly inspired by citizens who are Catholics and who found themselves in a situation where they felt unprotected from employers and the law. When the Church intercedes in the social area, it has the desire to be in the service of the person. When we receive a proposed law, we shall involve ourselves in its discussion and assume our position. We should like this area to be regulated in our country,” said the cardinal, urging the unions and other civil organizations to become involved in the solution of this problem. “We should like our country, which is open toward the process of the European Union, to be a country that will respect the cultural identity of Croatia and promote the prosperity of our citizens. I want the Government to propose a law that will be the most suitable for the citizens,” explained the cardinal.

In response to a journalist’s question whether all the contracts between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia have been implemented to the end and what about the return of Church property, Prime Minister Sanader said that the return of property is one of the segments of the contract that still has to be implemented. “Contracts must be respected and applied. The chairman of the Government Commission for Relations with Religious Communities, Božo Biškupić, and the chairman of the Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops for Relations with the State, Bishop Antun Škorčević of Požega, are cooperating regarding these questions. The reason for the incomplete implementation of the contract thus far is not a lack of political will but because there are objective problems regarding the return of Church property. These properties have had several owners. I thank the Croatian Conference of Bishops for its understanding but this does not justify not implementing the Contracts to the end. One solution is the exchange of real estate. We shall implement such a project during the realization of the Catholic University. Goodwill exists, as do the Contracts, but also problems that must not prevent us from finding a solution, concluded Prime Minister Sanader.