On the 80th anniversary of the Bleiburg tragedy and the Stations of the Cross of the Croatian people, Archbishop of Split and Makarska Zdenko Križić celebrated Holy Mass in front of the Church of the Passion of Jesus in Macalj, where he said that for believers, crime scenes are sacred and therefore must be places of forgiveness, not hatred.
Archbishop Križić emphasized in his sermon that in Macalj they are faced with the mystery of human tragedy and human evil that occurred at that location 80 years ago - cruel mass killings without any trial and any verification of the guilt or innocence of the victim.
He added that among the victims were many women and children who had never picked up a gun or participated in any way in any crime.
"Unfortunately, this place was not the only place where severe suffering was committed on the soil of our homeland, there are many of them. We condemn every crime, wherever it occurred and by whomever," said Križić.
He also said that, regardless of their nationality or religion, a dignified burial for people has always been considered a part of mercy.
Restore dignity to all those killed
"For many victims of war and the post-war period, this work of mercy was not allowed to be performed, and with this Eucharist and our prayers, we want to restore dignity to all the victims still covered by this land, but also to all our people whose bones have been excavated in various locations in our homeland or abroad," said the archbishop.
He said they are not there to fuel any hatred or revenge against anyone. "For us believers, crime scenes are sacred places, so they must be places of forgiveness, not hatred," the archbishop said.
The Holy Mass was also attended by the President of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of Croatian Veterans' Affairs Tomo Medved, Minister of Internal Affairs Davor Božinović, and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman, and numerous other guests.
Božinović: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on relations with Austria
Božinović pointed out that for the second year in a row, the tragedy of the victims of Bleiburg and the Stations of the Cross in Croatia is being commemorated at a very high level, after gatherings on the Bleiburg field were banned.
"As for relations with Austria, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs is working on that. What is most important to us is that this year we remembered that difficult period in Croatian history, that we paid tribute, respect, and reverence to all the victims who were not tried or had the right to defense and were in fact victims of terror and waves of suffering after World War II," said Božinović.
Vice Vukojević, honorary president of the Honorary Bleiburg Platoon, organizer of the commemoration and marking of the 80th anniversary of the tragedy, pointed out that in 1992 he was president of the Commission for Determining War and Post-War Victims and that 1162 skeletons of victims were found on Macalj.
Vukojević expects the commemoration to return to Bleiburg
He hopes that the commemoration will return to Bleiburg, given that the PBV has filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court in Austria over the ban on gatherings on the Bleiburg field.
The Holy Mass was organized by the Croatian Bishops' Conference and the Archdiocese of Zagreb, namely the Đurmanec Parish, and the patron of the commemorations and markings is the Croatian Parliament.
The Stations of the Cross of the Croatian people, one of the bloodiest post-war tragedies of World War II, began at Bleiburg, and Macelj is the largest execution site for communist victims in Croatia.
It is estimated that between 12 and 13 thousand victims of the communist regime died in the forests in early June 1945.
In addition, with 21 priestly victims killed in one place, Macelj is also the most sacred place of sacrifice for Catholic believers in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Photo: HINA/ds
