The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, sent messages of encouragement during Christmas mass on Saturday due to the ongoing pandemic and the consequences of last year's earthquakes, calling for a renewal of unity in faith and love through children, who he said are the future of Croatia.

“Christmas is the holiday of life. Hence, Christmas should support in every one of us the will for life, the decision to support young people, the openness to new life,” the cardinal said in a prefabricated church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Zagreb’s suburb of Čučerje. The parish church was demolished in the March 2020 earthquake.

Although it is often underlined that the child comes first, present-day society is in a way closing itself to children, he said. “Less and less children are born in our homeland, there are less and less children in families, school classrooms are increasingly small, more and more schools are being closed.”

In our society, Cardinal Bozanić said, it is “necessary to restore availability, generosity and joy towards children” because “new life is the greatest gift.”

The community’s participation in the life and upbringing of children, notably in families with more children, “is a sign of our openness to life, to the future,” he said, adding that everything need not be viewed negatively, including this pandemic, but accepted.

“While the world of consumption underlines limitations, we pray to see the opportunities to live more strongly the spiritual values that Christmas provides us with,” Cardinal Bozanić said, adding that in doing so, one should be especially considerate towards children and not transfer onto them one’s fears, confusion, disorientation and bitterness.

This time is an outstanding opportunity to create new unions of love, to rebuild relations, to forgive and seek forgiveness, to encourage those who are despondent and make happy those who are lonely, to pray for all who are sick in this pandemic, for the medical staff, for whose who mourn the loss of their loved ones, to work on preserving unity in society, the cardinal said.

He also underlined the importance of accelerating post-earthquake reconstruction and appealed to those responsible at state and local levels to “hurry up.”

“Let’s not slow down due to unnecessary administration which only sets brakes. Let’s hurry. We need the unity that reconstruction requires, unity and speed. Let’s all hurry up together so that tomorrow it’s not too late.”

Among those attending mass was Construction Minister Darko Horvat.

Celebrating Midnight Mass at Saint Jerome’s Church in Zagreb, Cardinal Bozanić said Christmas was a holiday of solidarity and care for one another.

During this pandemic, it is necessary to think of that solidarity and not be misled by false prophets, to think of one’s own and the health of others, he added.

“We live this temptation, we pray God for this plague to pass as soon as possible, that He delivers us from it, but while we are in this time, let’s be responsible and let’s not be misled by false prophets.”

Midnight Mass was celebrated at Saint Jerome’s Church because the Zagreb Cathedral is closed due to the damage sustained in last year’s earthquake.