ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanic, has said that Croatia's legal and administrative organisation is still suffering from the communist mentality.
ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip
Bozanic, has said that Croatia's legal and administrative organisation
is still suffering from the communist mentality.#L#
"Of all the areas of life, we have made the least progress in the
legal system in the past 13 years of democracy," the Primate of the
Catholic Church in Croatia told a news conference in Zagreb on
Thursday. He added that the Church had not yet registered its legal
entities because of formal difficulties, but would do it in the next
six months.
Commenting on IMF official Hans Flickenschild's statement on the IMF's
opposition to banning work on Sundays, Bozanic said the International
Monetary Fund should promote democracy and advocate the rights of
exploited groups, in particular of women who work on Sundays and are
not paid for that.
The law banning the work of big shops on Sunday was passed by the
Croatian parliament and it is a valid law of a country which is
independent, sovereign and responsible in the treatment of its
citizens, who voiced their stand on the matter by signing a petition
against work on Sundays, he said. Bozanic went on to say the law was a
matter of respect of democracy and of whether man or capital would be
in the focus of interest. "It is up to the government to decide
whether it will be co-operative and responsible or sycophantic," the
cardinal said.
Commenting on ecology issues, Bozanic called for the preservation of
water resources and the Adriatic sea for future generations.
He dismissed claims that some parish priests had given
politically-motivated sermons during the ban on electioneering before
and during the parliamentary elections on 23 November.
As regards the restitution of church property, the cardinal said that
the Church had not given priority to this issue, but that the
restitution of property was a matter of respect of ownership rights.
If the Church is given back its property, it will be more capable of
carrying out its humanitarian and social mission, he said.
(Hina) ms sb