Committee for Conflict Transformation Support

CCTS
Newsletter 21

The Pope's third visit to Croatia: Will his message be heeded?

by Goran Bozicevic, The Centre for Peace Studies, Zagreb

This June, Pope John Paul II visited Croatia for the third time in a less than decade. I feel it would not be correct to refer to him simply by his personal name, Karol Woytila, when these days he is most often called 'the Holy Father'. Croats were so excited about the Pope's visit, one could be forgiven for thinking that they must be in desperate need of a head of family. Yet their choice could be a cause of some surprise, given the doubtful ability of Croatian believers to hear the Pope's messages.

During his five day visit, John Paul II visited five Croatian towns: Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Djakovo and Zadar. Rijeka, where he stayed, was seen as the main centre of opposition to the Tudjman/HDZ regime in Croatia in the 90s. It is a town proud of its tolerance, as its Mayor was keen to mention:

"Welcome to Rijeka, a city boasting a long and tumultuous past; a city bordering the Rje_ina River and the Adriatic Sea; a city whose residents take pride in their openness, tolerance and hospitality which, I hope, you will experience for yourself. In Rijeka, Your Holiness, we consider the coexistence of different convictions and worldviews to be an asset. In this city, the ecumenism that you promote so tirelessly is nurtured with great care. With great happiness and respect we will heed your messages on this occasion."

The Pope's first words, soon after landing at Rijeka's Airport on the island of Krk, gave a clear and bold foretaste of his message to the Croatian authorities, Church and people:

"For almost thirteen years Croatia has trodden the path of liberty and democracy. As it looks to the future with confidence and hope, it now needs to consolidate, through the responsible and generous contributions of all its citizens, a social stability that will further promote steady employment, social security, an education system open to all young people and freedom from all forms of poverty and inequality, in a climate of cordial relations with neighbouring countries." (My underlining.)

When The Holy Father speaks about Croatia's 'cordial relations with neighbouring countries', it makes sense, sounds right and is unequivocal. That said, it seems rather surprising how far it is from Pope's mouth to Croatian ear!

During the Pope's visit several Croatian columnists asked whether people were ready to receive his messages, and even before he came the respected theologian Fra Bono Zvonimir Sagi asked, "Will we be able to hear him?"

Are we ready to think of Bosniaks from BiH as our brothers? Are Croatian Catholic believers (according to statistics, 88% of the population) prepared to encounter Serbs from the other side of the Drina river? We will see. Soon.

Only a few days before the arrival of this 'dearest guest', Croatia cancelled (officially, temporarily 'froze') the existing visa regime for Serbian citizens. In plain English that means that Serbs can come to Croatia just by taking a direct bus (queues are increasing), train or car, without being hassled in the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade for hours - or sometimes days*.

Are Croats prepared for 'cordial relations with Serbs'? No we are not, but the problem lies much more in lack of preparation than in any fundamental impossibility. Are Croats ready to start rebuilding relations with Serbs? Luckily, there is always an easy and 'not wrong' answer (but not very useful, either): 'More ready than we were before.' Yes, Croats are ready in their own way.

I have worked to help (re)establish communication with 'the other side' (Serbs) for more than decade. But that didn't prevent me from being hugely surprised to find Serbian 'turbo folk songs' in the jukebox at the home for elderly people where my mum went recently. No more than two steps away from the big Croatian national symbol, everyone can choose songs by the Serb singer called Ceca! She is known as 'Arkan's widow' (Arkan would be at the International Court in The Hague if he hadn't been shot) and is currently imprisoned in Belgrade in the 'state of emergency' wave of arrests. Yes we listen to Ceca, but do we listen to the Pope?

Why am I hesitating to even speak about 'preparation for Serbs'? Because I feel that everything is done to avoid it. But we are lucky - we have our Pope, who tirelessly keeps coming to prepare us for others (and ourselves). Long ago in 1994, speaking to a million pilgrims at the Zagreb Hippodrome, John Paul II said:

"In this region that is tested so seriously today, faith must become once again the force which brings people together and bears fruit, much like the rivers that pass through these countries. Like Sava, a river whose source is in Slovenia, that flows through your beloved country and then on along the Bosnian-Croatian border to Serbia, where it joins the Danube. The Danube is another large river that connects Croatia and Serbia with the other countries of Eastern, Central and Western Europe. The two rivers meet, much in the same way that the peoples that live on their shores are called upon to meet. The two Christian churches, the Eastern and the Western, must lead that effort because, in these parts, they have always lived together. The metaphor of the two rivers makes quite clear the path God wants you to take in this troubled moment of your history. It is the path of unity and peace and no-one should avoid it. It is the path that reason tells you to take, even before faith does. Has your history not created so many ties between your peoples that you are bound in a way that can never be undone? Is it not true that your languages, for all their differences, are so similar that you can communicate and understand each other better than you can with languages spoken in other parts of Europe?"

That was nine years ago. In preparation for his third visit to Croatia, the Pope surprised Croatian President Stipe Mesic with the question, "Do Croats remember my words?"

In its own way, this question itself made a deeper impact on the Croatian public than anything else. It is still not too late for each of us to come back to the metaphor of the two rivers and ask himself/ herself: "Am I hearing its message?"

* It should be mentioned that Serbia cancelled its visa requirements for Croatians in mid May, but these visas ceased to be problem last Summer when they became available on the Serbian border.

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