The bishops had invited Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Culture Minister Bozo Biskupic, who also chairs the Government Commission for Relations with Religious Communities, to the meeting to get first-hand information on the situation regarding the opening of membership talks with the European Union.
The meeting was held in a sincere atmosphere and lasted for an hour and a half, according to a press release from the Zagreb Archbishop's Public Relations Office.
Sanader described the amended indictments against Generals Mladen Markac and Ivan Cermak as untenable and noted that the Croatian people were following with confidence the government's efforts regarding talks with the EU, Devcic said.
The main topics discussed at the session, which started on May 11, were Croatia's efforts to join the European Union and the role of the Catholic Church in European integration processes.
"Our entry into the EU cannot be contested, because we have been part of that community for a long time," Devcic said, conveying the position of the Croatian Bishops' Conference.
"We share the mood of the people. This kind of behaviour towards the Croatian people and efforts to slow Croatia on its path to the EU are untenable," added the Bishop of Sibenik, Ante Ivas.