NEWLY-APPOINTED ARCHBISHOP OF ZAGREB INSTALLED

ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - Former bishop of Krk, Msgr. Josip Bozanic, was installed as Archbishop of Zagreb at the solemn Mass on Saturday in the Croatian capital. He was appointed to be Zagreb Archbishop by Pope John Paul II this July. Bozanic's predecessor, Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, first addressed the congregation in the overcrowded Zagreb Cathedral. He thanked people who had worked with him and helped him during his responsible and arduous task since he became Archbishop of Zagreb in 1970. In his farewell speech Cardinal Kuharic recalled most important events in the history of Croatian Roman Church and mentioned the 879 year when Prince Branimir sent a letter to Pope John VIII reaffirming Croatian Catholics' loyalty to the Holy Father, and spoke of the visit of John Paul II to Zagreb and Croatia on occasion of the 900th anniversary of Zagreb Diocese in September 1994. Cardinal Kuharic spoke of the hard times the Croatian people, in particular of the faithful, had experienced but, thanks to their faith, they managed to maintain awareness of belonging to their people and their homeland and lived in dignity. "Following the principle of the truth, justice and freedom, I preached and worked during the war imposed to Croatia. It was a war against the centuries-old right of the Croatian people to live freely and safely. We regarded the defence of one's own home and homeland not only as the right but also as a moral duty," he emphasised. We rejoiced at having realised the millennium-old right of the Croatian people, with a lot of sacrifice, when the free, independent and sovereign Croatian state was established, he said. Cardinal added that it was the time for him to leave this post and he entrusted his successors, Archbishop Josip Bozanic, to the church in Zagreb. After his speech Kuharic was greeted by the lengthy applause of the gathered. Then a letter of gratitude, forwarded by Pope John Paul II to Cardinal Kuharic via Vatican's Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, was read at the ceremony. The Holy Father thanked Kuharic for his fruitful service to the Church for more than a half century and leading the Archdiocese of Zagreb since 1970. The Pope emphasised that Cardinal Kuharic managed to save the Church from the grip of the atheistic regime and raised his voice against war. Then the Apostolic letter-charter, in which Pope John Paul appointed Bozanic for the Archbishop of Zagreb on 9 July this year, was read and Cardinal Kuharic handed over the pastoral staff to Archbishop Bozanic. By this symbolic act, Bozanic, who is the 76th bishop of Zagreb, took the office of the Zagreb Archbishop. During his sermon, Msgr. Bozanic greeted the Roman Catholic faithful in Zagreb, and addressed Cardinal Kuharic. He pointed out Kuharic's courage and promotion of the truth during the hard Communist times. Commenting on the current state of affairs in the Church, Bozanic said that "our Croatian people in this historic moment needs messengers of hope who will pave the way toward the future for it (the people)." He added that while the people had defended its basic rights and identity, the importance of its history had to be stressed, but when the people is expecting progress, it needs well- meaning and truth-loving criticism and prophetic orientation toward the future. According to the newly-appointed Zagreb Archbishop, Croatia needs thinkers and creators, people with new visions, ant those who will bring understanding, agreement and peace into the too much radicalised and tense public. He said to politicians "either these who are in power or these who are striving for it" not to ask from the Church to engage in politics when it came to taking part in power. He explained that "the mission of the Church is of a different kind. The Church, open to the spirit of Vatican Council II, asks only for being able to preach freely the Gospel with all truths and guidelines incorporated in it in convenient and inconvenient moments." At the end of his sermon Bozanic greeted representatives of the religious community in the country, bishops and archbishops from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Austria and the Czech Republic. He also greeted believers. The Apostolic Nuncio to Croatia, Giulio Einaudi, held a short speech and conveyed the Holy Father's best regards and blessing to Cardinal Kuharic and Archbishop Bozanic. Present at the ceremony were many believers, families of the former and current Zagreb archbishops, the Parliament President Vlatko Pavletic, the Parliament Upper House President, Katica Ivanisevic, a Deputy Prime Minister, Jure Radic, other Croatian senior officials and Zagreb county and city authorities. (hina) jn mš 041821 MET oct 97