Croatia has the responsibility to promote Christian values and the role of the family in education and social life as it prepares to enter the European Union, Pope Benedict XVI said. In his first public appearance since returning from a pastoral trip to Croatian capital of Zagreb June 4-5, the pope also emphasized the essential role of marriage and marital fidelity in a Europe, which has rising rates of divorce and separations. The pope spoke warmly of his brief visit to the overwhelmingly Catholic, former Yugoslavian country.
One of the trip’s highlights was the Croatian church’s first National Catholic Family Day June 5. Some 400,000 people attended, including families, clergy and faithful from nearby countries. Pope Benedict, who has often lamented the decline of Christianity in European society and public life, praised the still-strong Catholic traditions of Croatia, which he said should be encouraged in the rest of the continent.
“In today’s Europe,” the pope said, “the nations with solid Christian traditions have a special responsibility to defend and promote the role of the family based on marriage, which remains a decisive force in education and in social life.” This is especially true for Croatia, which is set to become part of the European Union later this year, the pope said.
VATICAN CITY (CNS)