ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan and the president of the Croatian Bishops' Conference, Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, on Thursday signed an agreement on spiritual counselling in penitentiaries, prisons
and correctional institutions, and a protocol on the registry of Catholic Church corporate bodies, in line with the Agreement signed between Croatia and the Holy See.
ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan and the
president of the Croatian Bishops' Conference, Zagreb Archbishop
Josip Bozanic, on Thursday signed an agreement on spiritual
counselling in penitentiaries, prisons and correctional
institutions, and a protocol on the registry of Catholic Church
corporate bodies, in line with the Agreement signed between Croatia
and the Holy See. #L#
"Archbishop Bozanic on behalf of the Croatian Bishops' Conference
and I, as Prime Minister, signed a protocol and an agreement
envisaged by agreements between Croatia and the Holy See, and which
regulate that which was not regulated hitherto," Racan said after
the signing.
"I am convinced that there will be no more difficulties regarding
that which we signed in the agreement, and we still have a lot of
work to do, which we shall discuss today and at other meetings," he
added.
Bozanic stressed that the protocol "ends the long period of
problems which occurred in the era of the Communist regime when
church corporate bodies were not recognised".
"This process has ended and the Catholic Church and its legal
entities have been granted the rights as churches in all other
democratic countries have", the Catholic Primate in Croatia said.
Bozanic added that the new agreement aimed at "helping detained
persons and securing their essential human rights. Both the
agreement and protocol are significant not only today, but also for
the future. We live in a democratic society where that which is
signed should be respected and stuck to".
(hina) lml