Minister Grlić Radman attends commemoration of Pope’s Day

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday attended as the envoy of the prime minister the commemoration of the Pope’s Day at the Zagreb Apostolic Nunciature

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday attended as the envoy of the prime minister the commemoration of the Pope’s Day at the Zagreb Apostolic Nunciature.

Addressing the event, Grlić Radman said that Pope Francis’ pontificate was being followed with great interest and that it clearly displayed the spreading of Christianity through new evangelization and support for humanity in dealing with the challenges of our times. “We in Croatia admire the Pope’s determination to stay close to the poor and the vulnerable,” said the minister, underlining the importance of the Pope’s protection of the weakest among us.

Highlighting the choice of 7 June as the Pope’s Day, which is also the Croatian Diplomacy Day, Monsignor Lingua stressed that the Croatian people’s faithfulness to the Holy See dated back to the times of Pope John VIII and Duke Branimir. “From the historical 7 June 879 until today, your closeness and your unity with the Holy Father are awe-inspiring. You have proven this countless times throughout the centuries,” he said.

Carrying on after the host, Grlić Radman recalled the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, who stood up against the Yugoslav totalitarianism that wanted to establish a national church and cut ties with the Vatican. “Archbishop Stepinac and the Croatian faithful were willing to accept great sacrifice in order to remain a part of the Catholic Church,” the minister said, thanking Pope John Paul II and the Holy See for all they had done for Croatia during the hardest times of fighting for freedom, democracy and national self-determination in the Homeland War.

In addition, relations between Croatia and the Holy See are not just a matter of history, but of the future as well. Grlić Radman therefore announced the advancement of the already excellent relations with the Holy See, underlining close talks and coordination on all the challenges that global politics and modern societies are faced with.

 

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