The letter of congratulations, which was sent by Pope Francis on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of HKR and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of IKA, was read by the Apostolic Nuncio in Croatia, Msgr. Giorgio Lingua at the ceremony in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Institute, where the president of the Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK) and new Archbishop of Zagreb, Dražen Kutleša, as well as Culture Minister Nina Obuljen were present.
The pope thanked the two Catholic media institutions for the role they perform in the service of the Gospel and expressed hope that the anniversaries will arouse a renewed commitment to spreading the values of brotherhood, solidarity and peace.
He called on the employees to devotedly serve the truth through good journalism that does not allow room for media rumours.
Coadjutor Archbishop Kutleša pointed out that IKA and HKR as Catholic media have built an identity with a clear church mission of spreading Good News.
"In addition to the evangelistic role, they also strive to be a means of dialogical relations with other religious communities and society," said Kutleša.
Archbishop Kutleša: It is important to strengthen credibility
He said that in the era of the so-called infodemic in which the world of credible and transparent information is increasingly difficult to bring closer to the public, one of the important tasks is to strengthen credibility, while maintaining the hard-earned trust with their publications.
He emphasized that these anniversaries are an opportunity to reflect on the agency's journey and the experiences it has gained over three decades, but also on the specific nature of religious journalism.
"Offering reports based on facts and marked by responsibility for the credibility of the news, IKA is today an indispensable media service of the HBK", Kutleša said.
Obuljen Koržinek: Keeping up with new technologies with the aim of providing accuracy
Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen-Koržinek congratulated Catholic media on their anniversary on behalf of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, noting that IKA has an "extremely important role in our media space".
She asserted that in the digital age - when the desire for faster news often comes at the expense of accuracy and integrity - IKA keeps pace with technologies, but its permanent goal is to provide accuracy and verification of information.
HKR is a place where various social topics are discussed, debates of public interest and dialogue are initiated, the minister said, adding that such a medium is a relevant stakeholder with numerous audience.