FIRST MILITARY ORDINARY IN CROATIA INSTALLED IN MARIJA BISTRICA

MARIJA BISTRICA, Oct 5 (Hina) - The first Croatian military ordinary, Monsignor Juraj Jezerinac, was installed on Sunday as part of the fifth traditional military pilgrimage in Marija Bistrica, 20 km north of Zagreb. Taking part in the pilgrimage were members of all branches of service of the Croatian army, the Ministry of the Interior, the Croatian Defense Council, war military disabled persons, envoys of all war victims associations, high state officials and foreign military envoys. Newly-installed Zagreb Archbishop Monsignor Josip Bozanic congratulated Jezerinac on his new office, to which he was appointed by the Pope on 25 April. The military ordinariate has been established for Catholics in the Croatian army and police, Bozanic said. He called these believers to bring Christian principles in the army and the police, with the aim to promote order and security in Croatia. "Only in this way can we enter into full community with other European peoples on the threshold of the third millennium", the Zagreb Archbishop said. An envoy of the Croatian President, Lt. Gen. Miljenko Crnjac, congratulated military ordinary Jezerinac with the hope that his motto "God Is Our Peace" will find a place in the heart of every Croatian soldier and policeman. "We have created Croatia believing in God. We need peace, because we know what war is", Crnjac said. The president of a commission for relations with religious communities, Jure Radic, recalled the principal goal of the Croatian Army is to keep peace. Spiritual guidance, he added, is an especially important service, since it brings peace to the soldiers' souls. According to Lt. Gen. Ivan Tolj, an envoy of the defense minister, the appointment of a military ordinary was a special event in Croatian history. Military ordinary Jezerinac said the principal guideline of the military ordinariate will be peace and cooperation will all people and all religions. Also in attendance was Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, former archbishop of Zagreb, who pointed out that by appointing Jezerinac, the Pope reconfirmed his devotion to Croatia and the Croatian people. Kuharic called on soldiers to base their education on peace and justice, so that the army may be "the school of honesty and respect of every person". (hina) ha 051535 MET oct 97