POPE JOHN PAUL II MEETS CROATIAN BISHOPS IN SPLIT

( Editorial: --> 5631 ) SPLIT, Oct 4 (Hina) - Pope John Paul II on Sunday met and lunched with Croatian bishops at the Bishops' Palace in Split. The meeting was attended by 16 active and six retired bishops of the Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK), headed by the HBK president Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, and cardinals and bishops from the Pope's entourage. The Pontiff presented his hosts with a message prepared for the meeting. Starting his address with "Dear Brothers and Sisters", the Pope expressed happiness to be able to meet Croatian bishops "after yesterday's beatification, at Marija Bistrica, of the watchful and courageous Pastor of this land, Alojzije Stepinac". The Pope expressed his gratitude to the bishops for "the brave witness offered so steadfastly to the universal Church and to the world, especially during the tragedy which recently struck this region". The Holy Father asked his hosts to convey his heartfelt greeting to priests and deacons, stressing his appreciation of their evangelical witness offered daily in serving God and their brothers. He urged them to follow their role models such as the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, who "have offered their lives for Christ's flock and have worked to build the unity of the Church". He further called for the unity of bishops and priests. "The Church in Croatia needs to strengthen communion between all its different parts, in order to attain the goals which beckon in the present climate of freedom and democracy." He urged "initiatives designed to promote genuine collaboration among the various sectors of the Church" and "openness to communion and obedience to the Pastors". Especially urged was communion "with the other members of the College of Bishops, in particular with those in Bosnia and Herzegovina". The Pope emphasised the need for mobilising all the Church's active forces, including lay faithful, in proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. Recalling the tragedy which Croatia suffered in recent decades under materialistic atheism, the Pope went on to say: "Today, in the new democratic climate, it is necessary to give strong support to the new evangelisation, so that the human person, the family and society as a whole will not be harmed and fall into the trap of consumerism and hedonism". That is why the Church in Croatia has to rediscover her own religious and cultural roots "in order serenely and confidently to cross the threshold of the new Millennium which is now so near". The Holy Father called for ecumenical dialogue with the other Churches and Christian communities, "with a view to eliminating needless misunderstandings". Your nation needs apostles who will go among the people bearing the Good News, the Pope said adding the nation "also needs lay faithful who are committed to spreading the Gospel in the fields of culture and politics". Continuing his address, the Pope entrusted Croatian bishops with the task of pastoral care of the family and the Christian education of young people. "Faced with the spread of the 'culture of death', which appears above all in the practice of abortion and the growing acceptance of euthanasia, there is a need to advance a new 'culture of life'," the Pope concluded. (hina) jn rml /mbr 041827 MET oct 98