POPE RECALLS APOSTOLIC VISIT TO CROATIA

VATICAN CITY, 8 JUN 2011 (VIS) - In the Wednesday general audience celebrated in St. Peter's Square today, the Pope recalled his apostolic visit to Croatia this past weekend, 4-5 June, which had the theme "Together in Christ".

  The Holy Father noted that the main reason for his visit was the first National Day of Croatian Catholic Families, culminating in Sunday morning's Eucharistic celebration, which took place in Zagreb's Hippodrome with a great number of faithful present.

  "In Europe today, the nations of firm Christian tradition", he stated, "have a special responsibility to defend and promote the value of the family based on marriage, which continues to be crucial both in the educational as well as the social arena. This message, therefore, has a special importance for Croatia that, with its rich spiritual, cultural, and ethical heritage, is preparing to enter into the European Union".

  During the Mass for the families, the Pope continued, he had the chance to "emphasize the gift and commitment of communion in the Church as well as to encourage married couples in their mission. In our days, while there are, unfortunately, a growing number of separations and divorces, the faithfulness of married couples has become a meaningful witness of Christ's love that allows them to live marriage for what it is: the union of a man and a woman who, with Christ's grace, love one and help one another for their entire lives, in joy and sorrow, in health and in sickness".

  "Faith in the God who is love", he continued, "is mainly spread through the witness of faithfulness in conjugal love, which naturally translates into love for the children who are the fruit of that union. But this faithfulness is not possible without God's grace, without the support of the faith and the Holy Spirit".

  Then, referring to the vigil with the youth held Saturday evening, Benedict XVI noted that the young persons present told him that "God seeks them before and more than they themselves seek Him. This it the joy of faith: discovering that God loves us first! It is a discovery that keeps us always disciples and, therefore, always young in spirit!".

  Another moment of his trip was celebrating, with the bishops, priests, religious, and seminarians, evening vespers at Zagreb's Cathedral where is found "the monumental tomb of Blessed Cardinal Aloysius Viktor Stepinac, Bishop and Martyr. In Christ's name, he courageously opposed the abuses of Nazism and fascism, and then later, of the communist regime".

  The Pope commented that in his meeting with representatives of civil society and the political, academic, cultural, and business worlds as well as the diplomatic corps and religious representatives in the National Theater of Zagreb, "I paid homage to the great Croatian cultural tradition, which is inseparable from its history of faith and the living presence of the Church".

  "Once again it has been made clear to all that Europe has a profound vocation to preserve and renew a humanism that has Christian roots and that can be defined as 'catholic', that is, universal and whole. It is a humanism that lies at the center of the human being's conscience, its transcendent openness and, at the same time, its historical reality, which is capable of inspiring political projects that are diverse but convergent in building a substantial democracy based on the ethical values rooted in human nature itself".

  The Holy Father concluded by thanking all who had prayed for his travels and asked that "through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Croatians, may what I have tried to sow bear abundant fruit for the Croatian families, for the entire nation, and for all of Europe".
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 8 JUN 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father:

  - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Campos (area 12,520, population 1,063,000, Catholics 919,000, priests 81, permanent deacons 2, religious 103), Brazil, presented by Bishop Roberto Gomes Guimaraes, upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop Roberto Francisco Ferreria Paz, who is currently auxiliary bishop of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

  - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Barra do Piraí-Volta Redonda (area 4,768, population 804,000, Catholics 604,267, priests 51, permanent deacons 2, religious 82), Brazil presented by Bishop Joao Maria Messi, O.S.M., upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop Francesco Biasin, who is currently bishop of Pesqueira, Pernambuco, Brazil.

  - appointed Fr. Omar Alberto Sanchez Cubillos, O.P., as bishop of Tibu (area 7,825, population 222,000, Catholics 211,000, priests 30, permanent deacons 1, religious 42), Colombia. The bishop-elect was born in Cogua, Clombia in 1963 and was ordained a priest in 1990. He is currently prior of the Cristo Rey Monastery in Bucaramanga, Colombia.

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POPE TO CELEBRATE PENTECOST MASS AT ST. PETER'S BASILICA

VATICAN CITY, 7 JUN 2011 (VIS) - This coming Sunday, 12 June, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost at 9:30am in St. Peter's Basilica, according to a notice issued today.
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INTERVIEW WITH POPE ABOARD FLIGHT TO CROATIA

VATICAN CITY, 4 JUN 2011 (VIS) - As is traditional on international apostolic journeys, Benedict XVI granted a brief interview to the journalists who accompanied him on the flight to Croatia.

  The first question was: Your Holiness, you have already been to Croatia on other occasions and your predecessor travelled there three times. Could you speak of a particular relationship between the Holy See and Croatia? What are the most meaningful reasons for and aspects of this relationship and this visit?

  The Pope responded that he had travelled to Croatia on two other times, "the first for the funeral of Cardinal Franjo Seper, my predecessor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who was a great friend. ... Later I visited again at the invitation of his personal secretary, Capek, who was also a man of great joy and great goodness, to take part in a celebration at a Marian sanctuary. There I witnessed the people's piety, which, I have to say, is similar to that of my own land. ... Thus I saw and experienced how Croatia, with its millennia-old Catholic history, is always very close to the Holy See and naturally with its prior history of the ancient Church".

  Holy Father, Croatia may soon be united to the other 27 nations that make up the European Union. Recently, however, a certain skepticism toward the European Union has been growing among the Croatian people. In this situation, will you carry a message of encouragement to the Croatians, so that they might see Europe not solely from an economic prospect but also a cultural one and from Christian values?

  Benedict XVI pointed out that Croatia "is a people who are at the center of Europe, of its history and of its culture. I think in this sense that it is logical, right, and necessary that they join the European Union. ... It is understandable that there might be a fear of an overly powerful centralized 'bureaucracy' or of a rationalistic culture that does not take its history sufficiently into account or the richness of that history and the richness of historical diversity. It seems to me that this could be precisely a mission for this people who are now entering: to renew, in unity, this diversity. European identity is precisely an identity of the richness of its different cultures, which converge in the Christian faith and in the great Christian values. It seems to me that it is also precisely a mission of the Croatians, who are now joining, to make this visible and efficient again: to reinforce the historicity of our cultures and the diversity that is our richness, against a certain abstract rationalism. In this sense I encourage the Croatians: the process of entering into Europe is a reciprocal process of giving and receiving. With its history, with its human and economic capacity, Croatia gives, and naturally it receives, thus broadening its horizon and living in this great commerce that is not only economic but above all cultural and spiritual as well".

  The last question was: Many Croatians were hoping that, on the occasion of your visit, Blessed Cardinal Stepinac would also be canonized. What importance today, from your point of view, does his figure hold?

  The Pope responded that "the cardinal was a great pastor and a great Christian as well as a man of exemplary humanism. I would say that Cardinal Stepinac had to live during two opposing dictatorships, which were however both anti-humanist. First, the Ustashe regime, which seemed to embody the dream of autonomy and independence, but which in reality was an autonomy based on a lie because it was used by Hitler for his own ends. Cardinal Stepinac understood this very well and defended true humanism against this regime, defending Serbs, Jews, and gypsies. ... Then there was the opposite dictatorship of communism, under which he again fought for the faith, for the presence of God in the world, and for the true humanism that is dependent on God's presence. Only if the human is an image of God does humanism flourish. This was his destiny: to fight in two different and opposing battles. It is precisely his decision for the truth against the spirit of the times, for this true humanism that comes from the Christian faith, which is a great example, not just for Croatians, but for us all".
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CROATIA, HELP EUROPEAN UNION APPRECIATE CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL TREASURES

VATICAN CITY, 4 JUN 2011 (VIS) - At 9:30 this morning the Holy Father left Rome's Fiumicino Airport and, after a flight of an hour and a half, landed in Zagreb's Pleso International Airport, thus beginning his nineteenth international apostolic visit, the first he has made to Croatia.

  The Pope was welcomed by Mr. Ivo Josipovic, president of the Republic of Croatia, Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, and Archbishop Marin Srakic, president of the Croatian Bishops' Conference.

  During his greeting to President Josipovic, Benedict XVI recalled the three pastoral visits to Croatia made by Blessed John Paul II and thanked the Lord for "for the long history of faithfulness that links your country to the Holy See. For over thirteen centuries", he said, "those strong and special bonds have been put to the test and strengthened in circumstances that were sometimes difficult and painful. This history is an eloquent testimony to your people's love for the Gospel and the Church".

  "From its earliest days", he continued, "your Nation has formed part of Europe, and has contributed, in its unique way, to the spiritual and moral values that for centuries have shaped the daily lives and the personal and national identity of Europe's sons and daughters. In the face of the challenges posed by today's culture - marked as it is by social differentiation and instability, and by an individualism that gives rise to a vision of life without obligations and a constant search for 'private space' - there is a need for convinced witness and active dynamism aimed at promoting the fundamental moral values that underpin social living and the identity of the Old Continent".

  The Pope emphasized that, "twenty years after the declaration of independence and on the eve of Croatia's full integration into the European Union, this country's remote and recent history can stimulate reflection on the part of all the other peoples of the Continent, helping them, individually and collectively, to preserve and to inject new life into that priceless common heritage of human and Christian values. So may this beloved Nation, in the strength of its rich tradition, help to steer the European Union towards a fuller appreciation of those spiritual and cultural treasures".

  Noting that he had come to celebrate the first National Day of Croatian Catholic Families, with the theme: "Together in Christ", the Holy Father hoped that "this important event will serve as an opportunity for proposing afresh the values of family life and the common good, for strengthening unity, renewing hope and leading people to communion with God, the foundation of fraternal sharing and social solidarity".

  After the welcome ceremony, Benedict XVI travelled to the presidential palace for a courtesy visit to President Josipovic.

  At 1:00pm, the Pope went to the apostolic nunciature in Zagreb where he received in audience Croatia's prime minister, Jadranka Kosor. At the end of the meeting the Holy Father had lunch with the members of his entourage.
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