For a Free Croatia Initiative: Glad Tidings
Yesterday morning, we were heartened by news that, until recently, seemed impossible: in the Rijeka Cathedral, at Mass, both the public-square prayer participants and the counter-protesters from the initiative Dodirni mi koljena were present together.
In December, Archbishop Mate Uzinić highlighted the importance of prayer that ennobles rather than provokes. Commenting on femicide, he noted a “defeat for us men, who even in the spirit of these prayers show authority through violence toward others.”
On the first Saturday of January, the Archbishop invited those who pray on city squares each first Saturday to join him in the Cathedral of St. Vitus, instead of praying in the square. He decided that every first Saturday, after Mass, the prayer would continue with the cathedral doors open as an invitation for all to join.
On the first Saturday in February, public worshippers and members of Dodirni mi koljena answered the invitation. Upon arriving at Mass, the members of the collective announced the end of their counter-protest, noting that the square worshippers were no longer focused on women’s chastity.
In December, the initiative For a Free Croatia supported a petition to remove worshippers from public squares, which was signed by more than 85 thousand citizens, demanding that public prayers calling for women’s chastity and male authority be recognized as an unconstitutional political agenda of discrimination against women.
For a Free Croatia expresses support for the Rijeka Archbishop in his act of opening the cathedral doors as an important and urgently needed step in reducing the troubling level of polarization in our society. We welcome the shared use of space between worshippers and counter-protesters as a first step toward opening social dialogue to transform conflict for the benefit of the entire community.
May this event serve as an inspiration and remind us that, despite irreconcilable worldview differences, “police cordons should not stand between us,” as the Archbishop said at today’s Mass.
We look forward to every bishop who, in a similar way, Christianly influences dialogue on conflicts in deeply polarized societies. We call on our elected political representatives to fulfill their duties and, following the example of Archbishop Uzinić, to oppose discrimination and advocate for equality, in accordance with constitutional values.
For a Free Croatia Initiative
