Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Benedict XVI has urged Catholics to courageously defend the traditional family.

“Do not give in to that secularised mentality which proposes living together as a preparation, or even a substitute for marriage,” he said in his homily at Mass on Sunday on the second day of his visit to Croatia.

The Holy Father (right) was celebrating Mass for thousands of families in Croatia’s capital Zagreb on Sunday to celebrate the first National Day for Croatian Catholic Families.

An estimated 400,000 pilgrims attended the Mass celebrated in the same hippodrome used by his predecessor Pope John Paul II in 1994.

Families came to the Mass together, bringing several generations, and pilgrims came from Bosnia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Greece, Hungary and Italy and beyond to hear the Pope speak.

Croatia

The Pope encouraged Croatia’s families to become ‘small churches’ in which ‘to live unity, communion and prayer.’ Pope Benedict invited parents to teach their children to pray and to pray with them, and to draw them close to the Sacraments.

“Your daily labour for the faith formation of future generations, as well as for marriage preparation and for the accompaniment of families, is the fundamental path for regenerating the Church anew and for giving life to the social fabric of the nation,” he said.

“In today’s society, the presence of exemplary Christian families is more necessary and urgent than ever.”

Croatian families of all walks of life carried offertory gifts to the altar during the Mass. While in Croatia, where married and unmarried couples enjoy the same civil rights and rights of inheritance, the Holy Father said: “It is possible to love without reserve, and do not be afraid to make a commitment to another person!”

He also highlighted ‘the spread of a secularisation which leads to the exclusion of God from life and the increasing disintegration of the family, especially in Europe.’

Christian history

Pope Benedict began his visit on Saturday by highlighting Europe’s Christian roots and Croatia’s place in Europe, and he focused on family values.

His trip to Croatia was not without its critics, however. His visit to the tomb of a Croatian cardinal for Vespers on Sunday night was scrutinised and called ‘controversial’ because of his Second World War role. Nonetheless, the Pope prayed at the tomb of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac.

“His martyrdom signals the culmination of the violence perpetrated against the Church during the terrible period of communist persecution,” the Pope said. “Croatian Catholics, and in particular the clergy, were objects of oppression and systematic abuse, aimed at destroying the Catholic Church, beginning with its highest Authority in this place. That particularly difficult period was characterised by a generation of bishops, priests and religious who were ready to die rather than to betray Christ, the Church and the Pope. The people saw that the priests never lost faith, hope and charity, and thus they remained always united.”

In a speech beforehand, the Pope hailed the cardinal as ‘a defender of the Jews, the Orthodox and of all the persecuted’ during the Nazi and Fascist dictatorship. The cardinal, who headed Croatia’s Church during the Second World War, was Beatified by Blessed John Paul II in 1998 but has not been fully declared a saint. Some critics claim the cardinal failed to stand up against the persecution of Serbs and Jews by Croatia’s pro-Nazi Ustasha regime.

Young Croatians give Pope Benedict a warm welcome

Pope Benedict XVI was warmly welcomed by thousands of young Croats who braved steady rainfall while waiting for him to arrive for the Saturday evening prayer vigil.

Some 50,000 crowded into Josip Jelacic square to hear the Holy Father speak ahead of last Sunday’s first National Day for Croatian Catholic Families.

“Jesus speaks to you today… he is your contemporary!” the Pope told the youth rally. “He seeks you even before you seek Him. While fully respecting your freedom, He approaches each one of you and offers Himself as the authentic and decisive response to the longing deep within your hearts, to your desire for a life worth living. Let Him take you by the hand.

“Let Him become more and more your friend and companion along life’s journey. Put your trust in Him and He will never disappoint you!”

Pope Benedict spoke of ‘swimming against the tide,’ the ‘shifting sands’ or modern dilemmas which, he said, called for ‘commitment and personal sacrifice.’

“If you are rooted in Christ, you will fully become the person you are meant to be,” he added, referring to his theme for World Youth Day in August.

Earlier in the day the Holy Father backed Croatia’s bid to join the European Union as he arrived in the Balkan nation, but said he could understand fears of EU’s centralised bureaucracy.

“From its earliest days, your nation has formed part of Europe, and has contributed in its unique way to the spiritual and moral values that for centuries have shaped the daily lives and the personal and national identity of Europe’s sons and daughters,” he said upon arrival at Zagreb’s airport.

After meeting with top Croatian leaders on Saturday, the Pope spoke about values and Europe’s Christian roots when addressing Croatian politicians, academics and businessmen gathered inside Zagreb’s ornate 19th century national theatre.