The Pope’s forthcoming visit, the ever growing differences between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia and the use of lay graduates in theology in the day-to-day pastoral ministry: these were some of the issues discussed during the 26th plenary session of the Croatian Episcopal Conference, held in Zagreb from 31 March to 4 April. According to the Croatian bishops, “the Pope’s visit is an event of grace that involves the local, diocesan and national Church as well as the cities and regions concerned”. The logo and motto (“Family road of the Church and the nation”) of this third pastoral visit of John Paul II to the country were also presented, and the publication announced of a pastoral letter that would sum up the significance of this important event. As regards the disagreements between the Holy See and the Croatian Republic, the bishops pointed out the difficulties relating to the juridical recognition of the Church and the agreement on pastoral activities in prisons and reformatories. No less problematic is the return of expropriated properties to the Church. It was therefore decided to invite Croatian premier Iva Racan to a meeting with the permanent Council of the Croatian Episcopal Conference to seek a solution to the problem. There are some 450 lay theology graduates now working in the Church in Croatia. This is a comparatively new phenomenon. The plenary session posed the problem of how best to use this potential within the Church and agreed on identifying particular areas within which they could be used. “Commitment in the Church the bishops declared requires professional and spiritual preparation; it’s not a trade”.
