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Contacts:

Caritas Croatia
Kaptol 26, Zagreb
+385 1 481 20 22
+385 1 481 21 03
caritas.croatia@caritas.hr
www.caritas.hr

The Week of Solidarity and Togetherness with the People and Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Caritas Croatia's Lenten campaign - 2008

Doing little things with lots of love!

During Lent when Christians are invited to live their faith in all its aspects a little more intensively, many believers and people of good will in Croatia direct their good intentions towards their brothers and sisters in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Once again this year, during the second and third Sundays in Lent (18 – 24 February) Caritas Croatia is organising its «Week of Solidarity and Togetherness with the Church and People in Bosnia and Herzegovina». 

The aim of this campaign is to express solidarity and togetherness with the people and Church in B&H by implementing a national fund raising campaign to raise financial aid for those in need but also to sensitise the public in Croatia about the difficult circumstances faced by the people and Church in B&H in an attempt to motivate a more informed Croatian public to feel the need to help.
CC's Lenten campaign to help the Church and people in B&H is being organised again this year for the second time based on a decision adopted at the regular annual sitting on 22 January 2007 of the two neighbouring bishops' conferences – Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – when they discussed how the Catholic Church in Croatia can hope the Catholic Church in B&H.

Citizens can make their contribution at the collection at Mass on the third Sunday in Lent – 24 February 2008. All the proceeds from this collection throughout Croatia will be earmarked for social assistance, education and assisting small businesses in B&H. 

You can also make your contribution by simply calling our charity phone

  • 060 9010 (the cost of a call is 6.10 HRK) or
  • by making a payment to Caritas Croatia's account no: 2340009-1100080340, poziv na br. 08 at the PBZ

Funds collected are of exceptional importance but this is not the only way to express solidarity.
Many people in Croatia are aware and grateful of the gifts that their fellow citizens from B&H have given by coming to Croatia enriching our country with their faith, culture, knowledge and work. Believers can contribute in solidarity with the Church and people in B&H by dedicating their prayers throughout Lent for those less fortunate and in particular during the Solidarity Week, following in Jesus' path of suffering, helping and comforting our brother and sisters in our neighbourhood just like Simon and Veronica.

During Solidarity Week (17 – 24 February), Liturgical celebrations and rituals – particularly the Way of the Cross – can be especially dedicated to the people and Church in B&H. Caritas Croatia has prepared a leaflet that may help with your prayers.

> Download Leaflet here (2.5MB)

During Solidarity Week bishops too can motivate priests and parishioners in their diocese to choose sister parishes in B&H with the aim of connecting parishes and parish Caritas organisations through joint pilgrimages, joint projects, exchanging experiences, information, knowledge and strengthening voluntarism etc.

CC President Bishop Josip Mrzljak, prepared a special EPISTLE in honour of Solidarity Week in an attempt to motivate pastor sin Croatia that they themselves be the driving force behind parishioners and people of good will to make their contribution to Solidarity Week. 
CC director and staff personally attended a different parish each evening during Solidarity Week and prayed together with parishioners in Zagreb dedicated to this cause. 

> Pilgrimage of prayer in Zagreb's parishes

CC in partnership with the national Caritas of the Conference of Bishops of B&H (BH BiH) will advertise a public tender to award grants. The tender will be open for civil and religious associations to submit project and programmes in the fields of education, social assistance and motivating small businesses (farms) in B&H.

A Project Committee and Steering Committee will evaluate the quality of projects submitted and approve funds and monitor the realisation of projects.

Let's do small things with lots of love and tell our brothers and sisters «You are not alone!»

Your Caritas Croatia

Caritas Croatia President, Bishop Josip Mrzljak's Epistle on the occasion of the Week of Solidarity and Togetherness with the People and Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Zagreb, 22 January 2008

Dear brothers and sisters!

In response to the expectations of the Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the directive issued by the Croatian Conference of Bishops, once again we wish to direct our sacrifices to help our brothers and sisters from Bosnia-Herzegovina this Lent too. As part of Caritas Croatia’s national campaign known as the “Week of Solidarity and Togetherness with the Church and People in Bosnia-Herzegovina” on the third Sunday in Lent our prayers and thoughts will once again be directed to the Church and people in our neighbouring country who are experiencing a difficult time in their endeavours to ensure their individual and collective survival in those regions. 

If we attempted to list all that the people from these regions who are based on firm foundations of Catholic faith and culture faithful have indebted not only our faithful but all citizens in Croatia, we would not be able to list all the ties between us in most recent times, what is more, throughout history. Much of that will remain unrecorded and known to people, but not to God.

God, is to whom our life paths are directed to when we do good deeds. Entering his home is the final and permanent award for those who remain on this path and stay there. 

Through our own experiences we know just how difficult and demanding it is to remain and advance on that path through all the hardships and vagueness. Without God’s mercy and human assistance, man stumbles and succumbs. The Holy Scriptures teach us how much we need each other because through helping others we progress towards our aim. Aware of our inability, weaknesses and ailments we feel the burden that our neighbours are bearing. 

Together with Martha and Mary we place our wishes in the hands of the Saviour of all men, uttering the words, “The one you love is sick”. (Jn 11:3)

Together with him we direct our prayers to the Father to see the misery of his people, to hear them crying out because of their slave drivers and to come to know their suffering and rescue them. (cf. Ex 3:7-8)

Consequently, we call upon you in the week preceding the third Sunday in Lent – 10 – 23 February – that in your prayers and while celebrating the Liturgy and God worship that you dedicate these to the Church and people in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in that way contribute spiritually to help our neighbours. 

We can give them our moral support by recognising their contribution to the spirituality, culture, sport, public life, economy, Christian mentality that now prevails in Croatia. 

We can offer out material support by making donation in our local church on the third Sunday of lent on 24 February. Your gift will be earmarked in accordance to the wishes of the Conference of Bishops of B-H and by decree of the Conference of Bishops of Croatia and selected by Caritas B-H to projects in the field of education, social assistance and motivating small businesses in B-H. 

With the funds raised last year we were able to finance 27 small projects submitted by Caritas B-H and a further 9 national projects submitted by Caritas Bosnia-Herzegovina.   


Dear brothers and sisters!
I invite you to be part of this action of solidarity with the Church and people in Bosnia-Herzegovina and offer your spiritual support through your prayers for this intention throughout the entire week; offer your moral support by valuing the people of that country and giving your material support at mass on the third Sunday of Lent or by calling our donation line on: 060 9010.
I call on God’s blessing to fall upon all those who support this campaign and make a contribution in any of these three ways. 

President CC
Bishop Josip Mrzljak

In wake of the Week of Solidarity
with the Church and People in B-H

Abridged version of an interview with Fr. Ivan Milovčić, for Glas Koncil,No. 7, (17. 2. 2008)

We can help in various ways

»Doing small things with lots of love« - is the motto of this year’s Week of Solidarity and Togetherness with the Church and People in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a national campaign organised by Caritas Croatia in cooperation with Caritas Bosnia-Herzegovina and will be held in the week between the second and third Sundays in Lent – 18-24 February.

The purpose of the campaign is to express our solidarity and togetherness with the people and Church in B-H.

Our fund raising campaign, but also activities to sensitise the Croatian public about the situation of the people and Church in B-H is aimed at informing the Croatian public about this situation and in this way motivating them to help. We spoke to the director of Caritas Croatia, Fr. Ivan Milovčić to announce the campaign for this year.

Reminding that the campaign was organised for the first time last year following a decree by the Conference of Bishops of Croatia which felt the urgent need to react to the needs of the Church and people in b-H, Fr. Milovčić pointed out the importance of informing the general public but even more so the faithful in Croatia concerning the situation faced by the Church and people in B-H. 

»We felt in particular that we owe them this because Croatia – and the Church in Croatia – owe so much to the people of B-H and in particular to the people who have settled in Croatia bringing their faith, culture, diligence and know-how and weaving into the life of Croatia” Fr. Milovčić said, adding that “may of our priests and nuns have their roots in the deep faith of the faithful in B-H”. As such B-H and the faithful that have settled in Croatia from that country have enriched the Church and people which is evident not only in the “spiritual life and Church but also in our culture, sports, economy, entrepreneurship and science”. “This is something that binds us and obliges us, particularly if since we know that the people of that country are faced with an unenviable life situation and are often compelled to fight for their own individual, collective, national and religious survival and to preserve their own identity.”

Asked just how the faithful in Croatia can help the people in B-H, Fr. Milovčić said: “We can help in various ways. One way is on a spiritual level, through prayer offering our moral support and sending them a message that they are not alone in their struggle for survival and that they have someone they can depend on and that we empathise with them and want to help them to preserve their identity and to survive in their own country. We can help them materially and that is why our campaign is organised with both dimensions which we want to highlight in particular. The material dimension – fund raising and collecting aid for B-H will be highlighted on the last day of this week, on Sunday 24 February when the collection at Mass will be collected and will be earmarked to help the people and Church in B-H.

In the week preceding that Sunday we want to highlight this other dimension – spiritual. We call upon all our diocesan and parish Caritases to organise prayer meetings during that week”, CC Director said, adding that CC had printed a little leaflet carrying CC’s President Bishop Mrzljak’s Epistle as well as a prayer guide for the Way of the Cross which is practised throughout Lent and in particular during this Week. “This week we are sending the relevant material to support the campaign to all parishes in Croatia and the leaflet will be made available to each and every believer in each parish”, Fr. Milovčić explained.

Speaking about the results of last year’s campaign when funds were earmarked to resolve concrete needs amongst the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Fr. Milovčić said: “As far as material aid is concerned, as it is not possible to measure our spiritual contribution, we managed to collect 3 million 600 thousand kuna. Most of that was collected amongst the faithful themselves. The Croatian government donated one million kuna. A special commission established by Caritas Bosnia-Herzegovina to select the best projects directed the funds collected from this year’s campaign to assist 27 small and 9 national projects. These projects refer to education, social assistance and support for small businesses. Aid was directed to small family businesses for instance, various education centres and adult education courses as well as other institutions dealing with various social projects and programmes.”

Even though he stresses the importance of concrete material assistance for the local population in that country, Fr. Milovčić points out that what is most important is to show the people in that country that they aren’t alone. That is why in fact, “last year we especially concentrated on establishing ties between Bosnian and Croatian parishes that otherwise practised good relationships between each other.

We call upon our diocesan and parish Caritases to motivate their community to draw closer to the Church in B-H and to help its local population and in particular by establishing brotherhoods, visiting each other and facilitating various events where parishioners from both countries have a chance to come into contact with each other and perhaps even establish business contacts.  We call upon parishes and diocese to join our initiative but not to just leave it that but rather to be creative and imaginative on their own and in that way find new paths and way to help in their prayers as well as offering material assistance during our campaign”.

Interview conducted by:
Ivan Uldrijan

Pilgimage of prayer through Zagreb’s parishes

Pogledajte fotografije

In the week preceding the 3rd Sunday in Lent – 24 February 2008, which the Croatian Conference of Bishops determined that the collection at Mass will be earmarked for the Week of Solidarity and Togetherness with the Church and People in B-H Caritas Croatia has organised a pilgrimage of prayer through Zagreb parishes.

The aim of this pilgrimage is to attract the faithful’s attention to the need to pray together and motivate a spirit of togetherness with our brothers and sisters in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

 

Schedule for the Pilgrimage of Prayer: 

  • Sv. Franjo  – Kaptol 9,
    MONDAY, 18.2.2008, at 18.00 h – Way of the Cross and Holy Mass 
  • Bl. Alojzija Stepinca, Samoborski Novaki, Trg kardinala Stepinca 1,
    TUESDAY, 19.2.2008, at 18.00 h, Holy Mass
  • Crkva Bezgrešnog začeća BDM (Franciscan church in Dubravia, Avenija Gojka Šuška 2, WEDNESDAY, 20.2.2008, at 18.00 h, - Holy Mass 
  • Sv. Antuna Padovanskog, Ul Sv. Duh 31,
    THURSDAY, 21.2.2008, at 19.00 h, - Holy Mass
  • Sv. Martina biskupa, S. Zorića 82, Dugo Selo,
    FRIDAY, 22.2.2008, at 17.30 h, - Holy Mass
  • Crkva Sveta Mati Slobode, Park prijateljstva bb, Jarun,
    SATURDAY, 23.2.2008, at 19.00 h, - Holy Mass
  • Muke Isusove (parish church), Koparska 58, Vukomerec,
    SUNDAY, 24.2.2008, at 11.00 h, Holy Mass celebrated by Cardinal Vinko Puljić