On Saturday morning Pope Benedict began a two-day pastoral visit to Croatia where
he will celebrate a national day of Catholic families in the capital Zagreb. Though
Croatia is an overwhelmingly Catholic country, the Church there is facing some serious
challenges resulting from the long years of communist rule and the more recent war
of independence in the 1990’s that left new religious and ethnic tensions. The
theme for this papal visit is ‘Together with Christ’, aimed at strengthening family
life and building an inclusive community rooted in traditional Christian values.
To find out more, Tracey McClure spoke ahead of the visit with Dr Gordan Crpyc
who is secretary general of the Croatian bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission – he
told her that despite the current challenges, the Church and the family remain among
the most vital and trusted institutions in the post- communist country...