AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON THE OCCASION OF
NEO-USTASHA PROVOCATIONS AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE
DAY OF EUROPE - DAY OF VICTORY
Zagreb, 12 May, 1997 .
The Europe Day - Victory over Fascism Day was celebrated this year, exactly like 6 previous years, at former Victims of Fascism Square in Zagreb. At the very beginning of the event, after listening to the Croatian hymn, respects were paid to all victims of fascism and all victims of Homeland War. During the whole event, while speakers were talking about the victims of fascism and about orientation towards contemporary Europe founded upon the values justified by the victory over fascism, a group of about 30 neo-ustashas was trying to thwart the assembly by shouting vulgar words, nazi salutations and singing ustasha songs.
Similar neo-nazi provocation could have happened anywhere in Europe, but not in the presence of the police, who reacted only after repeated protests of organisers, and sent neo-ustashas away, after they had thwarted the assembly for more than one hour.
What wouldn't be possible to happen in Europe, is that this group was led by a catholic priest.
If there exists blasphemy, it is certainly singing of ustasha songs such as "Hey ustashas, beloved brothers" or "Here is the dawn, here is the day" during the peaceful and dignified commemoration to the victims, to many of whom, these insolent ustasha songs were the last thing they heard. All this was done by the people led by a catholic priest V. Lasić , known in public for abusing and desecrating the "Wounded Jesus" Church by extolling a war criminal Ante Pavelić from the altar. While the other priest, L. Vincetić, talked about the victims, the genuine values of Christianity opposing fascism or any other totalitarian regime, V.Lasić encouraged his vandals and shouted
"Vincetić - gay" together with them.
People of Lasić's moral profile can emerge in any big organisation. However, the catholic church, due to its specificity, should take care of moral image of its priests. On the other hand, it is an organisation where subordinate structure has been built for centuries, and where order is very well known. Consequently, the lack of any reaction of the catholic church to blasphemies done by its priest, from raising a war criminal to saints and putting him among innocent children (probably those who were killed by his ustashas), to neo-ustasha vandalism at the commemoration to the victims of fascism, can only mean that the catholic church in Croatia silently approves of such acts.
These are hard words, but they cannot be disproved by silence or stupid insinuations about " evil intents" of every criticism against the church or the state, like, for example, the one in "Glas Koncila" which says that desecrating of a Jewish part of
Karlovac cemetery was the act of provocation of the people working with various human rights committees. These words can be disproved by clear and undoubtedly articulated attitude condemning such acts and calling their perpetrators belonging to catholic church to account.
As this is a critical attitude towards one aspect of the work , that is, non-work of the catholic church in Croatia, and as such attitude usually provokes an avalanche of bitter attacks ad hominem, I want to point out the following: I am not against the church and I think that the church in this suffering country might be very useful, but only if it stands where it belongs - defending the poor and powerless, at healthy distance from all the authorities.
Zoran Pusić
President of the CCHR