Croatian bishops' joy for upcoming papal visit

The bishops of Croatia's Catholic Bishops' Conference have expressed their joy for Pope Benedict's upcoming visit to their country. Here, we publish the English translation of their letter to the faithful ahead of the June 4-5 papal pilgrimage:


Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. A Church and nation visited by the Successor to the Apostle Peter are blessed. Therefore, the news that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted our invitation to visit Croatia and will be with us in Zagreb on June 4 and 5 of this year has filled us with great joy.
Treasuring the memory of the three Apostolic Visits by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II to Croatia, it is not difficult to relive our memories of the beauty of these encounters. They occurred at important moments in our Church and national history, and have always had a content and meaning that surpass the transience of experience.
It is thus this time, with Pope Benedict XVI. He is well acquainted with the conditions under which the Church in Croatia lives and the circumstances in which the Croatian people find themselves. Encounters in faith led by the Holy Father link the past and present, transience and eternity, receiving and giving, revealing their meaning for concrete life. In their center is faith, contemplation of the Word of God, the Eucharist, prayer for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and saints, and the voice of the apostolic magisterium from a local Church that spreads throughout the world.
As a nation and as members of the Catholic Church, we are bound to the Successors of Peter by numerous threads, as we often like to point out. They have been closest and most faithful to us during the most difficult moments of our history. Thanks to this closeness, our rich cultural-historical and spiritual heritage, by which we are readily recognized as builders and heirs of European culture, has been shaped. This bond obligates us to heed what the Holy Spirit is telling our Church and people today through Benedict XVI.
This time, the Holy Father is coming to us amidst an atmosphere of serious cultural, economic and political crises, behind which is actually a profound crisis of spirit. This crisis spreads despondency, deepening ideological and other divisions, reinforcing discontent, from which it is difficult to see a way out. The Pope is coming at a time when Croatia is on the brink of accession to the European Union, which confronts us with new questions and challenges, burdensome expectations and uncertainties.
While on the one hand we are aware of all of this, on the other we have previously experienced that every pontifical visit brings people hope, restores pride, arouses inner strength, provides encouragement and strengthens awareness of our own values and the magnanimity that exists in our nation.

2. In the Pope's response to our invitation, he has stated that his main reason for coming to visit us will be the celebration of the National Encounter of Croatian Catholic Families, which is being organized for the first time in our local Church, and to pray at the tomb of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac. He has thus indicated the key to reading his entire visit.
Marriage is the source and foundation, and the family is the primary and vital cell of human society. The family is also the first school of social virtue, without which human society cannot survive because all the virtues that it values and needs are born and inspired primarily in the family. The primordial and responsible communion cultivated in the family is the foundation and school of social unity and solidarity. Education within the family, therefore, is of crucial importance for the life of the whole society.
The Church since its beginnings has formed itself as a family in the environment of the home, the domestic Church. Moreover, since earliest times, it has grown from the most excellent testimony of faith: martyrdom, seen as the fulfillment of the gift of love and the following of Christ. If we place these two themes together, we shall find ourselves before the determinants of the mysteries of the Church, Christ's love toward it through the Incarnation and Resurrection.
We cannot, therefore, avoid mentioning the obvious and sorrowful difficulties through which the Croatian family is passing today, the consequences of which threaten the future of the entire nation.
Let us note the large number of young people who are postponing marriage due to unemployment and unresolved housing issues, unemployment and social problems, the rising divorce rate, addictions and domestic violence, the increasing prevalence of living together in temporary "trial marriages" without obligations, as well as the strong pressures that deny and even openly attack the value of marriage and family.
We have decided, therefore, to begin with the celebration of national encounters, through which we want to promote marriage and family values and reinforce the healthy self-awareness of Croatian Catholic families, showing them that they are neither alone nor abandoned.

3. The Holy Father, in addition to leading the central Eucharistic celebration at the Zagreb Hippodrome on Sunday, June 5, 2011, will on the previous day, June 4, meet with representatives of the world of culture, science, art, economics, politics, sports, religious communities and diplomats. After this encounter, he will meet with young people at Ban Josip Jelačić Square in Zagreb. On Sunday afternoon in the Zagreb Cathedral, the Pope will lead Vespers, together with priests, religious, seminarians, theology students and religious candidates. Based upon the program, we could say that these pastoral encounters will touch all the areas of ecclesial and social activity.
We hope that these encounters will first bear the fruit of community, in keeping with the chosen motto: "Together in Christ." The determinants of community from this motto are not primarily the social nature of assembly but, instead, the theological nature of sacramental union and belonging that cannot be fully explained by social processes but relate to the entire life of the society. Therefore, we should be pleased if people from the world of culture, science, art, economics and politics listen with an open heart and spirit to the messages of the Holy Father and the voice of the Church.
We particularly anticipate that the young will learn about the power of faith with even greater enthusiasm, discover their religious identity, courageously bear witness to the Christian presence in society, follow the ideals of the saints, strive for the good through the gift of self and the power of the cross.

4. Brothers and Sisters, in order for us to be better prepared for our encounters with Pope Benedict XVI, so that they will have a fruitful impact upon our lives, the Croatian Conference of Bishops has prepared a special catechesis. Therefore, we call upon pastors and other pastoral workers to organize encounters of families and young people in their dioceses, deaneries and parishes at which, through deliberations, prayer and initiatives, new momentum will be given to the recognizability of our Church.
Furthermore, knowing that every act of the Church is accompanied by prayer, we invite all of you to pray for the family. This communal prayer will guide us toward a communal celebration but also draw the entire Homeland Church together. Therefore, we have prepared a special prayer that all of us can pray every Sunday at the end of Mass and on other occasions of liturgical, family and personal prayer.
We urge all of you in families to prepare in your homes during this time to live in an atmosphere of prayer and the "domestic Church." Provide encouragement to each other: parents to children, children to parents, so that communal prayer takes root among you, so that there are signs of Christian faith in your homes, so that you gather to read the Holy Scripture together, so that as a family you do not forget to thank God for gifts, especially the gift of each other, and invoke his assistance in distress. This is a challenging path and task that liberates us for a more joyful witness to the beauty of our faith in the society and gives us a reason for our communal celebration with the Holy Father.
We invite you, dear Catholic families, dear young people, and all of you, Catholic faithful, to respond and come to the encounters with Pope Benedict XVI, to recognize that those days we should be in Zagreb, assembled first of all in the joy of faith and the manifestation of the beauty of the Church.
Praying for a blessing from the Lord, the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother and Queen of the family, the loving gaze of St. Joseph, the patron saint of Croatia, and the Blessed Alojzije, witness to eternal truth, in communion with all the saints we rejoice in the celebration with our Pope Benedict XVI.

In Zagreb, on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, January 25, 2011

Your bishops:

Marin Srakić, Archbishop of Đakovo-Osijek, President of the CCB
Josip cardinal Bozanić, Archbishop of Zagreb
Marin Barišić, Archbishop of Split-Makarska
Ivan Devčić, Archbishop of Rijeka
Želimir Puljić, Archbishop of Zadar
Slobodan Štambuk, Bishop of Hvar
Juraj Jezerinac, Military Ordinary
Ante Ivas, Bishop of Šibenik
Antun Škvorčević, Bishop of Požega
Ivan Milovan, Bishop of Poreč and Pula
Valter Župan, Bishop of Krk
Josip Mrzljak, Bishop of Varaždin
Vlado Košić, Bishop of Sisak
Mile Bogović, Bishop of Gospić-Senj
Nikola Kekić, Bishop of the Eparchy of Križevci
Vjekoslav Huzjak, Bishop of Bjelovar-Križevci
Đuro Hranić, Auxiliary Bishop of Đakovo-Osijek
Valentin Pozaić, Auxiliary Bishop of Zagreb
Ivan Šaško, Auxiliary Bishop of Zagreb
Mijo Gorski, Auxiliary Bishop of Zagreb
Mate Uzinić, Bishop-Elect of Dubrovnik