ARCHBISHOP OF ZAGREB AT MIDNIGHT MASS

ZAGREB, Dec 25 (Hina) - Archbishop of Zagreb Cardinal Franjo Kuharic lead the midnight mass on Christmas in the Zagreb Cathedral. Attending the mass were Croatian President Dr.Franjo Tudjman, the members of the Croatian Govt. and the members of the diplomatic corps headed by the Papal Nuntio Giulio Einaudi. In his sermon Card. Kuharic said that "we cannot celebrate the mass, nor the joyful event of Jesus' birth without including in our prayers those suffering at this very moment and all these days and years." He added that arms are not quiet in Bosnia and that the dead are spread all over that land and called for peace. Commenting, among other things, that the peace conferences have not succeeded and that they do not succeed because those who are responsible and who make the decisions are primarily lead by interests and not principles. Therefore, Cardinal Kuharic proposed holding a Christmas concert for peace in Geneva. "The victory of Christmas must happen in peoples' hearts, especially in the hearts of the powerful. That is the Christmas victory that must happen among the peoples and nations to finally stop the violence and let the days of peace shine, so let us pray that peace be realized in the coming year," Cardinal Kuharic said in his Christmas sermon. 251232 MET dec 93