Pope Benedict XVI has given his backing to Croatia’s bid to join the
European Union but says he understands a fear of an “overly strong
centralized bureaucracy.”
“I think it is logical, just and necessary that it (Croatia) enters,”
he told journalists on the plane from Rome to the Croatian capital
Zagreb on June 4 to begin a two-day visit.
The Pope said he likes to refer to Croatia as “central Europe” rather
than “the Balkans” because it reminds everybody that “Croatia is a
nation at the heart of Europe, its history and its culture.”
This is a
point he reiterated upon his arrival to Zagreb Airport.
“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.”
Croatia declared independence from the rest of Yugoslavia in 1991.
It
applied to join the European Union in 2003 and is likely to join this
year.
The E.U. is a political and economic union now consisting of 27
states.
Croatia’s entry hasn’t been without opposition though, with many
Croats fearing a loss of independence while many others worry about an
attack upon their Christian values.
Croatia is 89 percent Catholic.
“One can understand there is perhaps a fear of an overly strong
centralized bureaucracy and a rationalistic culture that doesn't
sufficiently take into account the history - the richness of history and
the richness of the diverse history that Croatia offers,” the Pope
remarked aboard the plane.
But he also hoped that the entry of the Croatia into the E.U. would
help reverse the tide of secularism washing across the continent.
“It seems to me that this aspect could be the very mission of this
nation that joins now: to renew a unity within diversity. The European
identity is an identity, precisely because of the richness of the
different cultures which converge in the Christian faith and in the
great Christian values,” a point Pope Benedict also emphasized upon
touchdown in Croatia.
The Pope said that reinvigorating Europe’s Christian identity
requires a “convinced witness and active dynamism aimed at promoting the
fundamental moral values that underpin social living and the identity
of the old continent.”
Pope Benedict was welcomed to the Zagreb airport by crowds waving
Croat and Vatican flags.
In his official welcoming address, the
country’s president, Ivo Josipovic, told the Pope that “Your arrival
comes at a happy time,” with Croatia celebrating the 12th anniversary of
its independence.