Croatian faithful mark the 25th anniversary of the beatification of the blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac

Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac (May 8th 1898 – February 10th 1960) served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his death. He was persecuted by the communist regime in Yugoslavia in the aftermath of the Second World War. He was subjected to a communist "show trial" in which the Yugoslav regime found him guilty of high treason for collaborating with the short-lived Independent State of Croatia during WWII and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. He served five years at Lepoglava Prison before being placed under house arrest in his home town of Krašić, where he would ultimately die in 1960.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the beatification of Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac, Zagreb Archbishop Msgr. Dražen Kutleša led mass at the Marija Bistrica Marijan Shrine near Zagreb. In his sermon he described Cardinal Stepinac as "God's gift to the Croatian people."

Msgr. Kutleša reminded that Pope John Paul II called Stepinac's beatification a historical event in the life of the Church and the Croatian nation: "Stepinac is a gift, God's gift to the Croatian people, in one of the most important moments of its history... Free from all human judgment and fabricated opinions of the ruling ideology about his guilt, he left it to God’s providence to defend him. Because martyrs are not slaves to ideologies, trends and influences, but free people whose only guidance is Jesus Christ and his Gospel."

He also emphasized that a person whose only guide is God and his commandments, himself becomes a light and a landmark for others: "The Holy Father Pope John Paul II wisely expressed this during his beatification: 'Through his human and spiritual path of life, blessed Aloysius Stepinac provides his people with a kind of a compass to know how to orient oneself. Here are the main points: faith in God, respect for man, love for everyone up to forgiveness, unity with the Church headed by Peter's successor."

Msgr. Kutleša emphasized that with his calmness, patience and surrender to God's providence, the blessed Aloysius Stepinac vigorously testified to his faith in the resurrection: "Blessed Aloysius, a man like us, loved life, respected everyone's life, regardless of national, ideological, racial or class affiliation, but he knew that the value of life is not tied only to the horizons of this country. He knew that God is the foundation of life, we are created in his image, and we are created through God’s will. From that foundation comes the inviolable dignity of every human being. Any philosophy, ideology or law that speaks of man without taking into account this fundamental truth ends in a lie, and often in blood."

Msgr. Kutleša also said that blessed Aloysius Stepinac was a man with a penetrating, prophetic spirit, who foresaw the future unification of Europe, recalling his words: "I don't know if I will live to see it, but I want such a Europe, based on the principles of Christ's Gospel, that will bring definitive peace to humanity, as much as is possible on earth."

The Msgr. Noted however, that unfortunately we know that there is no peace: "Even today war rages in the middle of Europe, because we want peace, but we don't want God," noting that more than eighty years ago, the Blessed Aloysius denounced the greatest weakness of contemporary Europe, the loss of its Christian identity, its spiritual roots, heritage, customs, historical truth and Christian symbols in public space.

Emphasizing that Alojzije Stepinac participated in the rescue of people of all nationalities and religions during the Second World War, including communists, Msgr. Kutleša recalled that during his show-trial people from all over the world, from all walks of life, from politics, science, religion and culture, provided testimony in his defense, including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: "His love was not stopped by open hatred or hostility. The guards in prison, and later during his house arrest, witnessed his great kindness and compassion. And compassion for the persecutor and love for those who hated him is an obvious sign of the presence of the spirit of Christ in his heart. The rapture of love was a permanent reproach to his persecutors. Even the communists who condemned him knew that he was unjustly condemned due to political necessity."

Msgr. Kutleša went on to say that through the darkness of the 20th century many have remained steadfast in their view that Cardinal Stepinac laid down his life for the unity of the Catholic Church, recalling the words of Pope Benedict XVI: "Croatian Catholics, especially the clergy, were subject to torture and systematic violence, which sought to destroy the Catholic Church... The people saw that their priests never lost their faith, hope, and love, and thus always remained united. This unity explains what is humanly inexplicable: that such a rigid regime was not could break the Church."

To mark the occasion the apostolic nuncio in Croatia, His Excellency, The Most Reverend Giorgio Lingua, placed a pallium on the metropolitan archbishop of Zagreb as a sign of the unity of the bishops at the level of the Croatian metropolis, but also a sign of connection, fidelity, obedience and communion with the Pope, and Zagreb Archbishop Msgr. Kutleša.

Source: HRT