ROME, June 5 (Hina) - A Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, on Thursday ran a special 32-page pull-out entitled "Pope John Paul II, Pilgrim to Croatia", as well as a poster of the pope and a list of his journeys.
ROME, June 5 (Hina) - A Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, on
Thursday ran a special 32-page pull-out entitled "Pope John Paul
II, Pilgrim to Croatia", as well as a poster of the pope and a list of
his journeys. #L#
The special edition includes articles on the history of the Church
in Croatia, cities the pope will visit during his 100th apostolic
journey, articles by Croatian bishops and archbishops, historians
and an interview with the president of the Croatian Bishops'
Conference, Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic.
The pope is coming to show us a clear orientation and give new
encouragement, Bozanic said. Asked about the current situation of
the Church in Croatia, the archbishop said the Croatian society was
facing sudden changes connected with the process of transition and
democratisation, as well as all challenges and difficulties that go
along with the process.
Reminding that Croatian bishops had chosen a slogan " Family - the
Way of the Church and People" for the pope's third visit to Croatia,
Bozanic said the Croatian dignitaries wanted to stress the
importance of the family, but also to point to numerous problems and
difficulties the family faced today in Croatian society.
On this occasion Croatian Catholics want to confirm their devotion
to the Holy See and renew their 14-century long loyalty to Jesus
Christ and his Church, Bozanic said in the interview.
A Radio-Vatican broadcast in Croatian last evening was almost
entirely dedicated to the pope's third apostolic visit to Croatia.
Sima Sandric, a cardiac specialist in Rome's Gemelli hospital in
which the Holy Father had been hospitalised eight times, expressed
conviction that the pope was capable of taking the trip because he
physically looked fine and also owing to his optimism and will that
kept him going.
(hina) it sb