The Catholic Church in Croatia in Relation to Forced Migrants - Situation and Perspectives

Povijest migracija povijest je ljudskoga roda, a time i, iz perspektive Katoličke crkve, povijest ljudskog spasenja. Prema onoj Kristovoj „stranac bijah i primiste me“ Crkva se uvijek na poseban način senzibilizirala s progonjenim i izbjeglim osobama. Nakon Drugog svjetskog rata ta je briga posebno izražena u konstituciji Exul Familia Nazarethana koju su slijedili drugi Crkveni dokumenti posvećeni pastoralu migranata u aktualnom povijesnom trenutku. Pontifikat pape Franje obilježen je upravo pojačanom brigom za migrante nekršćane što pokazuju i nedavno objavljene smjernice za interkulturni pastoral migranata. Rad propituje usklađenost stavova i djelovanja Katoličke crkve u Hrvatskoj s Papinim uputama i smjernicama na temelju rezultata istraživanja provedenoga među hrvatskim građanima 2021. godine.The history of migration is the history of the human race, and thus, from the perspective of the Catholic Church, the history of human salvation. Ac- cording to Christ’s message, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me”, the Church has always been especially sensitive to persecuted people and refugees. After the Second World War, this concern was particularly expressed in the constitution of Exul Familia Nazarethana, which was followed by other Church documents dedicated to the pastoral care of migrants in the current historical moment. The pontificate of Pope Francis has been marked by increased concern for non-Christian migrants, as shown by the recently published guidelines for the intercultural pastoral care of migrants. This paper questions the conformity of the attitudes and actions of the Catholic Church in Croatia with the Pope’s instructions and guidelines based on the results of a survey conducted among Croatian citizens in 2021