Zagreb Archbishop Kutleša: The future is built on truth, justice, love and freedom

Zagreb Archbishop Dražen Kutleša sent a Christmas message in which he emphasized that Christmas is not just a beautiful, idyllic memory but is "a living event of God's coming to us" to open the way for a future built on truth, justice, love and freedom.

We bring readers the Christmas message in its entirety:

"In the Jubilee Year in which we gratefully commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the Croatian Kingdom, we feel even more strongly how difficult the path to peace has often been and how dearly it has been paid. We are aware that lasting and true peace cannot be achieved by mere wishes and diplomatic efforts, but by a sincere conversion of heart and the renewal of relations within our people and among the peoples of the world.

Christmas is not just a beautiful, idyllic memory, but a living event of God's coming to us. "He himself hastens to save us" (Is 35:4) and reconciles us with the Father and with each other, opening the way for us to a future built on truth, justice, love and freedom.

These four realities, which Saint Pope John XXIII set out in his encyclical Pacem in terris as "pillars of peace on earth", belong not only to the social teaching of the Church, but also to its evangelical proclamation and deepest spiritual essence. Without truth there is no trust, without justice there is no peace, without love there is no community, without freedom there is no dignity of the person. Christmas is the moment when God calls us to stop these words being just concepts and become the program of our life and the renewed Croatian future.

1. Peace in truth

The angels call for peace with their song, but peace cannot be built on untruth, forgetfulness or distortion of reality. Its foundation is the awareness of God's primacy in history and of the purposefulness of human life in joyful communion with God. The God who is born in Bethlehem is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn 14:6), and this truth for us means first and foremost recognizing that every person, without exception, is created in the image of God and called to eternal communion with him. From this faith grows a deep respect for every human life, from conception to natural death, for every person regardless of their past, belief, nationality or political affiliation. Saint Augustine teaches us that peace is the tranquility of order and that there is no order without accepting the truth about God and man (cf. De civitate Dei, XIX,13). In the Child of Bethlehem, God reveals to us the fullness of this truth.

For Croatian society, living in accordance with the truth also means courageously looking at our own history. It means acknowledging the good that God has done through our ancestors, gratefully preserving the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and dignity of the people. But truth also means not being afraid to acknowledge wounds, injustices and crimes, especially against the innocent, no matter where they come from. The truth does not serve to accuse, but to liberate, precisely according to God's word: "The truth will set you free" (Jn 8,32). Therefore, Christmas is a call to the Croatian people to stop living on half-truths and one-sided memories and, holding on to the incarnate Truth, Jesus Christ, to seek together the complete truth that heals.

We also need the truth in everyday life: in the family, in upbringing, in the media, in politics, in the Church. When children see that their parents live by the truth, and not just talk about it; when the media serves reality, not sensation; when arguments are made in the public space, not insults, then truth becomes the path of peace. Christmas therefore calls us to renounce cheap and hurtful words, insults and manipulations and to be people who are not afraid to speak and accept the truth, but always in the spirit of the Gospel.

2. Peace in Justice

Peace without justice is a fragile illusion. The child in the manger will one day come as the Judge of the living and the dead. Now he offers himself to us as a brother and Savior who wants justice to begin here, on earth, in our and every society. Justice means giving everyone what is due them: honor and worship to God, respect for one's neighbor and a fair share of goods, and a life worthy of the children of God for oneself.

In the Croatian reality, this means fairness in employment relationships, employment opportunities, fair and regular wages, transparency in the management of public goods, care for the poor, the unprotected, the sick, and efforts to ensure that no one remains on the margins of society. One cannot truly celebrate Christmas, and turning a blind eye to families living in poverty, to young people who leave to seek a future elsewhere because they see no fair opportunity here, to the elderly left alone. Justice requires structures, laws and institutions that protect the weakest, not those who are the loudest or most powerful.

In the Jubilee Year, which in the Holy Scriptures has always been a time for the renewal of just relationships (cf. Deut 25), we are called to renew the social order so that no one is forgotten, and justice does not remain just a concept, but becomes a style of living together.

Justice is also necessary in confronting past wars and ideologies. There are many wounds that still hurt: unworthily buried, uninvestigated crimes, people who are still waiting for the truth about their loved ones. It is the duty of the state and society, but also of the conscience of believers, to seek that every person receives a dignified memorial and, where possible, a faithful burial. This is not the reopening of old conflicts, but an act of justice and mercy.

Without such justice, peace remains superficial and illusory. With it, however, the possibility of real reconciliation increases. The peace we want for our people, Europe and the whole world is not simply the absence of conflict, but an orderly order of relationships in which truth is acknowledged, justice is sought, and the dignity of every person is respected.

3. Peace in Love

Truth and justice without love can become hard and cold. That is why the angelic song does not stop at just proclaiming peace, but rather places this peace in the heart of God's affection for people "who are his beloved." Love is the reason why God became man. Love is the reason for his cross. Love is the power that breaks down the walls of hostility.

Christmas calls us to rediscover in Croatian society the beauty of love that "does not seek its own" (1 Cor 13:5). Love begins in the family, in patient listening, in forgiveness, in the readiness to sacrifice oneself for the good of those with whom we live. Therefore, may this Christmas be a moment of grace for steps of reconciliation in families. For a spoken word of forgiveness, for a phone call to someone with whom we have broken off relations, for reopening the door that human weakness has closed. May the steps of reconciliation continue in parishes and other communities of our faith, where we are not divided by political colors, origin, and status, but rather recognize each other as brothers and sisters who feed on the same Bread of Life. Love transcends our borders and leads us to those who are different, to the poor, to migrants, to the marginalized, to those who feel rejected and who may never come to church, but who can encounter Christ through our proximity.

Love is especially important in the way we communicate and treat each other. In a time when words often become weapons, there is a call for words to be medicine. The Christian is called to refrain from "feeding" divisions with harsh words, offensive comments and social networks that have become battlefields. Love does not mean the absence of truth, but the way we speak the truth; it does not mean the renunciation of justice, but the way we seek justice. Love makes truth and justice not kill, but heal.

4. Peace in freedom

God did not come into the world to enslave us, but to free us from the slavery of sin and fear. The freedom that gives birth to peace is not the freedom to do whatever one wants, but the ability to do good, from within, from a pure and formed heart. The words of the Holy Scripture: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor 3:17) can be a Christmas message for every believer and every person. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that freedom is inseparably linked to truth, because only true good liberates man (Homily on the World Day of Peace, January 1, 2011). In the birth of Christ we see the source of freedom that serves and builds, not destroys. Christ, through his incarnation, took the form of a Servant, becoming the least of the least, a Child dependent on others, in order to introduce us to the freedom and glory of the children of God.

After more than three decades of political independence for our homeland, we understand well that for Croatian society, freedom means much more than political independence. It means freedom of conscience that is not bought by interests or intimidated by pressures, and the freedom of believers to publicly profess their faith and live according to its principles, respecting others and seeking the common good. Freedom also means that the media serve the truth, not arbitrary power or profit, that families can raise their children according to their own convictions, and that young people, adopted in their own country, do not have to choose between faith, honesty and success.

Freedom is closely linked to responsibility. There is no Christian freedom without responsibility for the common good, for the weaker, for future generations. Christmas therefore calls us to renounce the mentality of passive observers whose slogans are: "Nothing can be changed", "Everyone is the same", "Let others do their own". We are free in Christ and that is why we can, each in our own place, change the world with small steps: through righteous work, Christian upbringing of children, honest performance of public service, courageous witness to the truth in a society that is sometimes afraid of the truth.

5. A Call to Reconciliation

Peace on earth does not begin in conference halls, but in the hearts of individuals. This peace does not stop there, but embraces society, relationships between individuals, groups and nations, and thus becomes a reflection of God's peace. The Croatian people carry within them a deep experience of suffering, wars, injustice, but also a great wealth of faith, culture, and solidarity. Christmas is a call to allow Christ, through his birth, to renew all that is in us and among us that has been damaged by sin and that has robbed us of peace.

In our homes, this means concretely extending a hand of reconciliation to those with whom we may not have spoken for years. In the Church, it means stopping nurturing divisions between progressives and conservatives that are far from the conciliar image of the Church, and in society: stopping using the past as a constant weapon in mutual struggles and, with respect for all victims, leaving it to God's justice and human honesty. Reconciliation does not erase wounds, but it gives them new meaning. They become places through which the glory of God is manifested as the power of forgiveness. Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, who remained steadfast in love and truth in the most difficult times, teaches us that the strength of the Church is always in hearts that do not allow themselves to be captured by hatred.

A special call to build peace goes out to all those who hold responsible offices: be builders of bridges, not walls. Renounce the cheap rhetoric of division. Open the space for honest dialogue, accepting expertise, listening to different voices. It is not weakness, but courage to seek reconciliation. It is weakness to build your popularity on the old wounds of the people. Christmas Eve reminds us that God chooses humility, not force; closeness, not domination; service, not self-promotion.

Ultimately, the peace that the Church throughout the world calls for this Christmas is not just the fruit of human efforts. It is, above all, a gift. God gives it in the sacraments, in the Word, in prayer. Whoever opens himself to this gift gradually becomes an instrument of peace in his environment. That is why the Church in Croatia makes a special call to believers to make more effort so that this Christmas will not be spent only in external celebration, but in sincere confession, in persistent prayer and reading of the Holy Scriptures, in the renewed practice of the Sunday Eucharist, in works of mercy towards those in need.

May every encounter with the newborn Child in the manger help us to understand that God is counting on us. Not with someone else, distant and unknown, but with us, here and now. Every act of forgiveness, every word of encouragement, every sacrifice made out of love bears fruit that surpasses our strength. Through such acts, quietly and secretly, but unstoppably, the kingdom of God grows among us.

The child lying in the Bethlehem manger is the same Christ who gives his life on the cross, and in the resurrection conquers sin and death. He alone can grant the peace that the world cannot give.

I wish all believers, all people of good will in our homeland and in the world, to experience this Christmas the peace that the angels proclaim: peace in the heart, peace in the family, peace in society, peace among nations. May God grant us the grace to live in truth, to be just and to love in deed and truth, and that, truly free in Christ, we build a society worthy of man and pleasing to God.

May Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Peace, together with Saint Joseph, Blessed Alojzije Stepinac and all the saints, intercede that the Croatian people may be a people of reconciliation and hope, a people open to God's peace and ready to share that peace with others.

We ask the Lord to grant us the grace to live in truth, walk in justice, do everything out of love and remain faithful to the freedom of God's children, so that our entire homeland may be a place of reconciliation and new hope.

May you all have a happy and blessed Christmas, filled with the quiet peace of Bethlehem and the joy that springs from the Savior's birth. "And may the new year 2026 shower you with an abundance of God's grace, light and love, and may it illuminate every home and fill every heart with the peace of Christ," reads the Christmas message of Zagreb Archbishop Dražen Kutleša.

Source: HRT