CARDINAL KUHARIC'S ADDRESS TO CROATIAN PRESIDENT

ZAGREB, Sept 30 (Hina) - On occasion of the retirement of Cardinal Franjo Kuharic as Archbishop of Zagreb, the nominations of his successor, the bishops of Varazdin and Pozega and the military ordinary, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman gave a formal dinner on Monday. The following is the speech made by cardinal Kuharic: "During the 52 years of priesthood and 27 years of service as archbishop, I had tried to follow principles which are essential in order to respect man and which are essential so people could develop honourable, honest relations, as well as that which we have always advocated, the dignity of man, and of the people. As man is inviolable in his right, so is a people, we would say, as one collective being, inviolable in its own right. That is why we always wanted the Croat people to live to be free, independent, to live on their own soil and to manage their own possessions, to build their culture and to live a free life. And when, during the war, which was, in fact, a war against this freedom and against this right, foreign representatives, diplomats, ambassadors came to see me, I always advocated this right, the right to live, the right to live on one's own land, in one's own home, and that every people had this right, not just the big and powerful, but every nation, even a small people. They have this right because of their history and culture and their identity and, simply, life and presence on the soil of their homeland which they have inherited for over 13 centuries. And from this starting point we have truly always advocated this right of ours, have tried to explain to those who had a hard time understanding our history and our sufferings and everything so painful we have lived through our whole history, Kuharic said. The establishment of the free, independent state of Croatia "is a great joyful event, which has given joy to the Church, which has given joy to the whole of the Croat people and all people of good will in our beautiful homeland. You invested all your energies, your life, your scientific experience and your knowledge of history in making this happen. So, we feel this gratitude towards you, for making this happen to the Croat people - freedom. This is a gift of God. With His presence and providence, God also has ways to turn the ways of history through man's conscious and through man's heart. The Croat people, in this war which they did not want, was harmonious. Harmonious in the homeland, harmonious in the foreign land, so all Croats all over the world felt it was fate, decisions of destiny for our future. And now in peacetime, what will the Church encourage? Again, it will encourage harmony, it will encourage mutual respect among people and persons, it must educate conscience, so that everyone in his position, in his work, in his place works conscientiously. "When someone is conscientious in his work, in his duties, he always contributes to the common cause. He does not build only for himself, does not work only for himself, but works for the community, works for the whole people, works for the good of the state. "This is the way the Church wants to influence what you have mentioned, for moral principles to be respected. In one of my epistles I wrote that a policy lacking in morality becomes inhuman. Even though you have experienced so many misunderstandings and various pressures, we can even say blackmail, on the part of the powerful, is that not also a test whether theirs is a policy of morality or a policy of some interests? "Man is an ethical being, and without moral values he cannot live simply his dignity, either as a person, or a family, or a community. Relations and life must be built on moral truths. The Church has tried to carry out this duty in the former system , during the war, and now in peacetime as well. It is the Church's job. Of course, it is easier for the Church to act if it is free. We did not always have this freedom, it was more than just limited. Now this freedom has arrived with the freedom of the people, with our own state. We can access schools, the army, the police, so that the Church may act there as well, as you said, to work on the moral education of the young people who also take on responsibility for peace and order and the protection of freedoms and rights. "We can enter prisons, so that the Church may offer them what it has and what it offers. We can access the media to a certain degree as well, so that we may spread the message of God's word further and wider among the public. "All this is combined in this gift of freedom that happened to us, but now we must all conscientiously live this freedom. Freedom is always a responsibility in our attitude to the others," the cardinal said, stressing we must respect those responsible for the common cause. "Therefore, I thank you, four your promise of support, four your guarantees of freedom, so that Croatia may really be a state with the rule of law (…), so that every man may feel he is protected in his rights, but also that he is obliged to comply with his duties." "Let us go into the future with confidence, with hope. We have never stopped announcing hope. Even when it was difficult, as well as now, we do it. Many times have I said, talk to the big starting from principles, never on your knees. Principles are a weapon! When Croatia steps before the world with clean hands and a clean conscience, it is strong before the strong! May this be a blessing to our country, a blessing to your responsibility and your service and the service of all your associates for the good of us all. Thank you," Cardinal Franjo Kuharic concluded his speech to President Tudjman. (hina) ha lm jn 302017 MET sep 97