POPE JOHN PAUL II'S SERMON AT ZNJAN, SPLIT

( Editorial: --> 0149 ) ZNJAN, Oct 4 (Hina) -"We are unworthy servants". With that quote from the Gospel, Pope John Paul II began his sermon during the Celebration of the Eucharist today in Znjan, near the Croatian coastal city of Split. He then continued, "These words of Christ surely kept echoing in the hearts of the Apostles when, obedient to his command, they set out on the highways of the world in order to proclaim the Gospel. They travelled from one city to another, from one region to the next, and always taking to heart the admonition of Jesus: When you have done all that is commanded you say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have done only what was our duty'" (Lk 17;10). "This same realisation", said the Pope, was brought by those who first crossed the Adriatic Sea and brought the Gospel to Roman Dalmatia, to the people who then dwelt along this beautiful coast and in the other, no less beautiful, lands reaching as far as Pannonia. The faith thus began to spread among your ancestors, who in turn handed it down to you. This has been a long historical process, which goes back to the time of Saint Paul and which had a forceful beginning in the seventh century, with the arrival of the Croatian people", he said and continued, "Christianity arrived here from the East and from Italy, From Rome, and it shaped your national tradition". Pope John Paull II stressed the need to thank "God for this two-fold gift; first and foremost, the gift of your call to faith, and then the gift of the fruits which that faith has borne in your culture and your way of life". "Along the Croatian coast, down the centuries, there arose wonderful architectural masterpieces, which inspired awe in countless people in every age. Everyone could enjoy this splendid heritage, standing out amid the lovely countrside. Tragically, as a result of war, many of these treasures have been destroyed or damaged. The eye of man can no longer rejoice in them. How can we not feel regret for this?" In response to this question, the Holy Father added more, "Have we really done what was our duty? And what must we don now? What tasks lie before us? What resources and what forces do we have at hand?" The Holy Father called to mind St. Paul's Letters to Timothy in which he also mentions one of his followers, Titus who was sent on a mission to Dalmatia. "Titus was thus one of the first evangelizers of these lands, singular evidence of the Apostle's concern that the Gospel should be brought here". Those who today, at the end of the Second Millennium, must continue the work of evangelisation can draw light and strength from these words...we rightly speak of the need for a new evangelization: new in method, but always the same with regard to the truths it proclaims". Greeting each of the bishops from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina by name, the Holy Father said that he was pleased to see Metropolite Jovan, and Evangelical Bishop Deutsch, and other members of other religious communities that were present in Znjan. The Pope also greeted the President of the Republic, the President of the Government and other representative of the civil and military authorities. He continued, "Dear friends, Split and Solin make up the second and final stage of my Pastoral Visit to Croatia. These two places have a very special significance in the growth of Christianity in this region, from Roman times and, later, Croatian times - and they evoke a long and wonderful history of faith from the time of the Apostles until our own days". The Holy Father noted the numerous "men and women who made the faith their programme of life" - from the martyr St. Domnius through to the numerous martyrs during the Turkish occupation, up to the Blessed martyr Blessed Alojzije Stepinac in our times. Pope John Paul II recalled his letter written for the Year of Branimir, marked in 1979, one of the stages of the celebration of the Jubilee of the baptism of the Croatian people. (During the rule of Branimir the Croatian nation accepted the Roman Church as its supreme religious authority). That history obliges "Christians of Croatia to give a new face to their country, above all by committing themselves to the renewal in society of the ethical and moral values undermined by past totalitarians and by the recent violence of war. It is an urgent task, for without values there can be no true freedom or true democracy. Fundamental among these values is respect for human life, for the rights and dignity of the person, as well as for the rights and dignity of peoples", concluded Pope John Paul II, after which the celebration of the Mass continued. (Hina) sp 041334 MET oct 98