REGULAR ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CROATIAN CATHOLIC MEDICAL SOCIETY HELD

On Saturday, March 8, 2025, the regular annual Assembly of the Croatian Catholic Medical Society (HKLD) was held at the John Paul II Theological Seminary in Rijeka. The Assembly was preceded by a thanksgiving mass in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, led by the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Rijeka , Mons. Mate Uzinić , and concelebrated by the spiritual director of the HKLD, Prof. Dr. Don Ivan Bodrožić , the spiritual director of the HKLD Branch in Rijeka, Dr. Sc. Don Mario Tomljanović , the spiritual director of the HKLD Branch in Split, Prof. Dr. Fra Domagoj Runje , the spiritual director of the HKLD Branch in Karlovac, Fr. Gaudencije Vito Spetić , and the rector of the Theological Seminary in Rijeka , Rev. Ivan Devčić .

Archbishop Mate welcomed HKLD members from all over Croatia who gathered in Rijeka for the Society’s regular Assembly, and in his homily he referred to today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 5:27–32), which is also the patron saint of HKLD. In the Gospel, Jesus responds to the Pharisees and scribes who indignantly ask him why he associates with tax collectors and sinners: “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Therefore, the Archbishop tells HKLD members that in their mission they should approach both the healthy and the sick, all who need the word of God, and in this way testify to their affiliation with the Catholic medical association. The Archbishop also mentioned St. John of God, the patron saint of nurses and the sick, whose memory we celebrate today. St. John of God was the founder of the Order of the Brothers of Mercy according to the saying Fate Bene Fratelli , which means “do good, brothers”, which John addressed to the people from whom he asked for help for the needs of the hospitals he founded. After the mass, the president of the HKLD, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Rok Čivljak , presented the hosts with appropriate gifts – paintings by Marijana Šatrak and Marija Tokić created at the 17th art colony organized by the HKLD in Zagreb – and thanked Archbishop Uzinić, spiritual director Don Marijo Tomljanović and vice-president of the HKLD branch in Rijeka, Prof. Dr. Sc. Natalija Kučić for their hospitality and organization of the Assembly.

Liturgical singing during the mass was led by the Folk Singers of the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel from Kaštel Kambelovac, who were guests at the Archdiocese of Rijeka this weekend.

The Assembly was opened by the President of the HKLD, Prof. Dr. Sc. Rok Čivljak , who thanked those present for coming, and then invited the Working Presidency, consisting of Prof. Dr. Sc. Ivica Grković (Split), Prim. Ivan Barišić (Zagreb) and Prof. Dr. Sc. Natalia Kučić (Rijeka), to lead the working part of the Assembly. After the reports of the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the HKLD, the reports of the branches and sections of the Society followed, which were unanimously accepted.

In his report, the president of the HKLD referred to the most important events of the previous year. Among the domestic activities, these were the usual celebrations of the Day of the Sick, the Day of Life, the feast of St. Luke (patron saint of the HKLD), the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of the unborn, and other activities. Among the professional activities, he singled out the panel discussion “Contemporary Aspects of Marriage and Parenthood” held in March in Zagreb (co-organized with the Center for the Study of the Relationship between Science and Religion of the Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Sciences of the University of Zagreb), the symposium “Gambling: a Thrown Dice of Challenges to Theology and Medicine” held in May in Split on the occasion of the International Day of Appeal to Conscience (co-organized with the Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Split), the pilot project “Healthcare Guide for the Elderly” held in November in Žumberak (co-organized with Caritas of the Zagreb Archdiocese), and the course “Ethical Challenges in Medicine – End of Life” held in December in Zagreb.

During 2024, the president of the HKLD was received in audience with Pope Francis , and he also met with Msgr. Dr. Dražen Kutleš , the Archbishop of Zagreb and president of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference, with whom he discussed the possibilities of improving further cooperation.

The most important spiritual events were a pilgrimage to Poland (April), a physical spiritual renewal in Krasno (June), and a pilgrimage to Boka Kotorska (October).

This was followed by an overview of important international activities, the most important of which was the organization of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the European Federation of Catholic Medical Societies (FEAMC), as part of which the conference “Professional and Ethical Challenges in Medicine During War Conflicts” was organized in Đakovo and Vukovar (May/June), as well as the active participation of HKLD members at the XII International Conference in the Vatican in the organization MaterCare International under the slogan “I am what I Do: Establishing My Identity in Christ” (September) and the co-organization of the international conference “Challenges of Medical Professionalism in Today’s World” held in October in Dubrovnik (in cooperation with the Pontifical Academy for Life and the World Medical Association ), while a group of 25 members of the HKLD Youth Section participated in the symposium “Caring for people at the edges of our health system” organized by the Belgian Medical Society of St. Luke in Leuven, Belgium (November).

The Society continued with regular publishing activities and during the year four issues of the HKLD Gazette were published , and two more books were published from the Signa cordis library : “Profession: to heal, to ease, to encourage – Reflections on ethics in the medical profession” by the honorary president of FIAMC José María Simón Castellví and the book “The Way of the Cross with the Right Thief” by Prof. Dr. Don Ivan Bodrožić.

The Assembly was concluded by the spiritual director of the HKLD, Prof. Dr. Don Ivan Bodrožić, with a fitting spiritual exhortation, and the Assembly also adopted a work plan and program for 2025, which you can see here !

After the Assembly, HKLD members, accompanied by their hosts, visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Trsat, where they prayed for HKLD and their family members in front of the icon of the miraculous Mother of God named “Mother of Mercy”.

Rok Čivljak,
president of HKLD

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THE CROATIAN CATHOLIC MEDICAL SOCIETY (HKLD) IS A CATHOLIC PROFESSIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION THAT BRINGS TOGETHER DOCTORS OF MEDICINE, DOCTORS OF DENTAL MEDICINE, MASTERS OF PHARMACY, MASTERS OF MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTRY AND OTHER HIGHLY EDUCATED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. READ MORE…

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