"Our national Croatian pride has been weakened amidst various pressures," the dignitary told Croatian Radio on Monday, adding that internal pressures to "belittle some of our values and specific features" were stronger that the pressure from outside.
The Croatian people should be proud of what it is, of its values, he said, adding that in the integrating Europe, individual peoples and countries can preserve their identities.
Asked by the radio how much Pope Benedict XVI can help the Croatians' efforts to preserve their Christian roots as they enter the European Union and whether Croatia, as a small country, could enrich Europe with its values, Cardinal Bozanic said that "everyone who is consistent in their identity makes a contribution to the broader community. In this way, Croatia can make a contribution to the European community of peoples".
He said that the Pope was coming to Croatia to be with the Croatians and to pray with them and praise them for what they did well.
The current pontiff is paying his pastoral visit to Croatia on 4-5 June.
Commenting on the previous three visits by Joseph Ratzinger's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, to Croatia, the Zagreb archbishop said that the first visit of the Holy Father in 1994 took place amidst the war.
"The pope came to us while we were still partly at war, when foreign tourists were advised against visiting us," the dignitary said, adding that the pope had come to encourage the Croatians and to show that he was not afraid of external pressures.
The second visit of Pope John Paul II ensued in 1998, after the war, and his third trip to Croatia in 2003 was his 100th pastoral trip outside Italy, Bozanic recalled.
He called on the faithful to come to meetings with the pope on 4 and 5 June.
The central event of the current pope's visit to Zagreb will be his participation in the first gathering of Croatian Catholic families and young people, and in this context Cardinal Bozanic spoke about the importance of the family.