CROATIA: More than 100,000 Croatians yesterday heard Pope John Paul appeal for the defence of traditional family values during an open-air Mass in the port of Rijeka, writes Paddy Agnew in Rijeka.
Looking tired in the sweltering heat on the fourth day of his visit to Croatia, the 83-year- old Pope still commanded rapt attention from the huge crowd.
The Pope focused his address on the family, acknowledging that many families in this fledgling democracy struggled to make ends meet. The average annual income in Croatia is about €4,500, while more than 400,000 people from a 4.4 million population are unemployed:
On Saturday near Osijek, the Pope again referred to the bitter legacy of the warfare of the last decade in former Yugoslavia. "After the trying times of the war, which has left the people of this region with deep wounds not yet completely healed, a commitment to reconciliation, solidarity and social justice calls for courage."
The Vatican has worked hard behind the scenes trying to persuade Croatian authorities to collaborate with the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague and hand over indicted military officials. Not everyone in the Croatian church has agreed with this policy with one bishop, Ante Ivas from Sibenik, criticising the government for "humiliating and dishonouring" the country's "defenders" by threatening to hand them over.
The Pope's historic visit ends today when he visits the coastal town of Zadar before flying back to Rome this afternoon.