The Croatian province of the Society of Jesus said on Monday it did not authorise father Zdravko Knezevic to participate in this morning's protest outside a Zagreb hospital against mandatory Covid certificates for health workers.

Knezevic was among some 50 protesters who booed Health Minister Vili Beros upon his arrival there to mark the start of the certificate mandate in the health sector. The media reported that Knezevic shouted “treason, the gallows, you are Judases” to Beros.

In a press release, the Croatian province of the Society of Jesus distanced itself from Knezevic’s participation in the protest, even though he said he was there as a private person.

The province also distanced itself from his statements at the protest, saying that some of them, as carried by the media, were totally inappropriate. “Because of that, I apologise to everyone who was hurt by them,” father Dalibor Renic said in the press release.

“I believe health workers and their leadership deserve our trust and support in their attempts to give citizens the best healthcare in this pandemic crisis,” he added.