Ivan Pernar (Živi Zid), a controversial
and rebellious member of Parliament, announced on Saturday on his
Facebook profile that he was not a Catholic anymore and that he had
“dropped out” from the Catholic Church, reports 24sata.hr on January 7, 2017.“For those who do not know and who are interested in this, I am not a Catholic. I have dropped out of the Catholic Church because I do not agree with its religious teachings or with its political messages. For example, I do not believe in prohibition of marriage for priests, in purgatory, in adoration of statues, in infallibility of the Pope, in that priests can forgive sins. There are a lot of things, but these are the most basic reasons. However, regardless of religious dissent, I would go (as a political representative) to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Catholic Church if they were not in collusion with HDZ and if they had invited me”, announced Pernar on Facebook.
Later, he published another post in which he further explained his reasoning.
“The Catholic Church is an arm of HDZ and, as long as it has a sway over a large part of our people, HDZ will win elections. Since there is a cause and effect principle, as long as that criminal organization continues to win elections, Croatian people will continue to leave our country and emigrate from it. Those of us who will stay here will have to fight for survival in increasingly dramatic conditions. Since HDZ is serving foreign powers and interests, they will continue to borrow funds and sell our country, all in the name of great national pride and patriotism. Then they will fulfil the dream of those people who wanted to remove us from this area”, wrote Pernar.
He then published another post about the Catholic Church.
“Some people have asked me why I have attacked the Catholic Church, since they say that I am popular among my voters because I am against banks, the EU, NATO and the new world order. It is hard for me to explain it in one sentence, but I will say this: as an organization, the Catholic Church is in service of the global elite. That is the reason why the Vatican advocated for Croatian accession to the EU, that is the reason why the Pope advocates for the new world order. They are part of the 1% elite, and that is the reason why they now stand with HDZ, and not with impoverished people. They are always on the side of the oppressor and never on the side of the oppressed, because money is their God. They are part of the team at the top of the pyramid of power which rules the masses”, concluded Pernar his post.