Pope John Paul II to Croatia, where the pontiff urged people Sunday, June 8, to make the family a cornerstone of society.
Despite sweltering heat, about 100,000 praying and singing pilgrims welcomed the Pope in the Croatian seaport city of Rijeka, his 100th foreign pilgrimage as well as his third, and likely last, trip to the former Yugoslav republic.
Speaking at an open air mass in Rijeka, he told the youth of this mainly Roman Catholic country of nearly five million people to marry and raise families.
He called marriage "a bond which is publicly manifested and recognized." The Pope also urged political leaders not to ignore the families in Croatia, where one out of five adults are unemployed and the average monthly wage is $450.
HELPING THE FAMILY
"It must not be forgotten that in helping the family," politicians "also help to resolve other important problems, such as providing assistance to the sick and the elderly, stopping the spread of crime and finding a remedy to drug use," he stressed.
Witnesses said the 83-year-old pontiff appeared frail and looked fatigued in the punishing sun that has accompanied his busy program in the former Yugoslav republic.
At least two people died at an open-air Mass conducted by the pope in the town of Osijek, in eastern Croatia, after apparent heart attacks triggered by sweltering heat. Organizers said hundreds of other pilgrims needed medical attention in recent days.
PUNISHING SUN
However the punishing sun did not seemed to have lead to major changes in the pope’s well prepared trip, which was also aimed at promoting reconciliation, following Croatia’s war of independence from Yugoslavia during the 1990s.
After talks with government officials, Pope John Paul was scheduled to wrap up his trip Monday, June 9, with a visit to the southern coastal city of Zadar. The Pope has already said he wants to encourage politicians to make sure the Balkan nation will become part of what he called "the great European family" of the European Union.
The Vatican appears to hope that predominantly Catholic nations will play a role in designing the new EU constitution, amid concerns that the document makes no reference to Christianity.
