Croatia's Ambassador on Pope's weekend trip to Zagreb
Pope Benedict XVI will be traveling to Croatia June 4-5th for weekend celebrations
marking the first National Day for Croatian Catholic Families. Vatican Radio's Tracey
McClure spoke to Croatia's Ambassador to the Holy See, Filip Vucak ahead of Pope Benedict
arrival in Zagreb: Q: How would you describe relations between the Republic of Croatia and the Holy See?
A - The Holy See has had special relations with Croatia throughout history. The Holy See officially recognized the Republic of Croatia a few days before the other countries did so, during the difficult period of the war, and the Croatian people appreciate it.
Today the relations between the two countries are very good, proof of this can be seen over the course of 17 years, in the three visits of Pope John Paul II and now the fourth: the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Croatia.
Few countries have been visited so frequently as Croatia. The first visit (by Pope John Paul II) in 1994 and now the fourth, (by Pope Benedict) in 2011. Croatia’s Presidents and Prime Ministers have come for official visits to the Holy See many times, most recently in October 2010 and the current Croatian Prime Minister Ms Jadranka Kosor attended the great event of the beatification of John Paul II.
The relationship between the Catholic Church and the State is very good thanks to the four agreements that govern the return of property taken from the Church during the Communist era, education issues and religious education in schools, and issues concerning the military vicariate etc..
These agreements were signed 12 years ago and are overseen by a joint committee of representatives of the government and the Church. In the Communist period in Croatia there were no Catholic schools, except seminaries, and in recent years some Catholic schools were founded, including the Catholic University of Zagreb.
Q: As you were saying, this is not the first visit of a Pope to Croatia. Can you talk a bit about these past trips? How has Croatia changed since the visits of Pope John Paul II?
A: Croatia has changed a lot. This year we celebrate twenty years of our independence. Pope John Paul II’s first visit in 1994 was exceptional because it was the first visit by a Pope to Croatia, and what’s more, he was the Pope who made possible the recognition of Croatia (as a state), and who called for the end of aggression with a vigour that no other statesman displayed.
In 1994 the war was not yet over, and one quarter of the country was still occupied. The war front was only 40 miles from where the Pope held Mass for 800,000 faithful in Zagreb’s hippodrome.
(His) second visit in 1998 was equally important, because (it was) in Croatia’s biggest Marian shrine, Marija Bistrica, that the pope beatified Cardinal Stepinac, a victim of communism (sentenced to 18 years in prison, he died during house arrest 10 years later.)
The third visit in 2003, was also (his) one hundredth jubilee trip and we were all honoured (that he chose to come to Croatia). During that trip, the Pope also visited the cities on the Adriatic coast: Rijeka, Zadar and Dubrovnik. With all three trips to Croatia, the Pope visited all the most important regions of the country.
Q - - How are Croatians awaiting the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI?
A. For Croats, the arrival of Benedict XVI in early June is a great event. It is estimated that thousands of faithful will turn out at the Zagreb hippodrome. 40,000 young people are expected to participate in the evening vigil of June 4th in the main square of Zagreb. On the same day, politicians and cultural representatives of Zagreb and the diplomatic corps will meet the Pope at the Croatian National Theatre.
On June 5th there will be a meeting with the clergy and evening prayer in the Cathedral of Zagreb.
The Pope will also meet with President as well as the President of the Government. A part of the Pope’s speech to me on April 11th, upon delivery of my letters of credence (as new Ambassador to the Holy See), focused on the European Union. The Holy See, as does Croatia, does not want Croatia to lose its identity after EU membership. Even if it is a small member, it brings something new to the European Union, and in a particular way, (it brings) its Christian roots .
Q: When do you expect Croatia to become a full member of the European Union and what will it bring to the EU?
A: The negotiations between Croatia and the European Union have already been going on for six years. The negotiations are nearly finished - 30 out of 35 chapters have been completed and we believe that negotiations could end by the end of June. In this case, the contract for accession would be signed by the end of the year. After that, it will go to parliament for ratification by all members – a process that will take about eighteen months. And this means that Croatia could become a member of the EU sometime around mid-2013. But there is a danger that everything could be delayed a few months.
The main problem is Chapter 23 on human rights and the judicial system, and many other criteria that must be met. If this chapter is concluded, a proposal will be made to introduce monitoring of this field in Croatia, leading up to accession..
Q: When you were received by Pope Benedict in audience, the Holy Father spoke of the Croatian parliament’s decision to proclaim 2011 “the Boskovic Year.” This Jesuit Croatian scientist had a special relationship with St. Peter’s Basilica here in Rome – how so?
A: This year we are celebrating the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of Boskovic. Born in Dubrovnik, he spent most of his life in Italy; he is buried in a church in Milan. Towards the middle of the 18th century, this scientific genius – together with two French mathematicians and under the patronage of Pope Benedict XIV – helped restore the fissures which had opened in the cupola of St. Peter’s basilica. He therefore helped preserve Michelangelo’s unsurpassable masterpiece. (Testifying to this achievement) we have (discovered) a small 40 page book written by Boskovic in Italian. In it, he explains his plans to save the cupola; and then, as a great mathematician, he indicated the exact weight of the Basilica’s cupola.
Q: How much does it weigh?
A: Four million, eighty-one thousand, four hundred and sixty one kilos…. For this reason, towards the end of this year, we want to organize a symposium on Boskovic at the Pontifical Gregorian University where he himself taught. We are also planning an exhibition and a symposium involving Croatians, Catholics and others familiar with Boskovic’s work and we’d also like – if possible – to place a memorial plaque directly on the Basilica’s cupola or in the Vatican, to commemorate Boskovic’s work and especially his effort to preserve the cupola.
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