In his first sermon as the Archbishop of Zagreb, Msgr. Kutleša spoke, among other things, about the importance of building a more just society, in which human rights will be recognised and protected and economic and political relations regulated to benefit all people.
That is a challenge to be dealt with by all believers, he said, warning of the danger of hypocrisy at all levels of social as well as religious life.
"We are aware of the problem of lack of virtues, which existed in the past and continues to exist, but today we also notice a lack of knowledge about virtues," he said, adding that "we do not seem to know any longer what is a sin and what a virtue, what is good and what is bad, and what is fair and what is not."
Social unfairness and injustice particularly affect the family, Kutleša said, noting that the family, which had always been a place of union and acceptance, was today affected the most by economic imbalances, lack of economic and social empathy as well as by the contradictions and divisions they cause.
Motherhood and parenthood, children and young people, who are the driving force of a nation, are seriously affected, he said, noting that they deserve qualified and unconditional care and support by the Church and society and stressing that everyone in society is called upon to help protect the family, notably children.
There still exist different forms of exploitation, violence and injustice in society, Kutleša said, adding that people, instead of being increasingly free in a responsible way, are becoming slaves to various addictions, technology, media and human opinions.
"We must be aware of the fact that our people, too, have been affected by relentless secularisation and atheistisation," he said, noting that this causes a spiritual, moral and anthropological crisis in the nation and calling for inner conversion as a way of achieving changes that would be in the service of man. Kutleša also recalled that the future of the Church and a nation depends on inner conversion and the values an individual chooses to live by.