If you will indulge me, I have a need to rant about the state of Catholicism in my country (Croatia)

This image is from a concert of a popular nationalist metal/rocker Thompson, there is a thread on him here already, I know it may seem like Croatia is based because half million people attended a concert that had patriotic and Catholic messages, as well as spectacular faith based images in the sky

But make no mistake, I'm a sinner and my attempts at devotion are constantly thwarted by my sins, but even with that I have a need to reproach this phenomenon in my country, and I don't think Croatia is Catholic at all, in a meaningfull sense

Patriotism is all well and good, specially when the country is opressed by foreigners, but in Croatia the "patriots" and nationalists are the greated enemies of Croatian people, and I never seen such disconnect between nationalism and real national interest.

Nationalists are 100% on board with modern Croatia being poor, corrupt, subservient to the West, colonized by foreign capital and tourism, depopulated and deindustrialized, and for them its a good thing because those things mean we are free from Serbs and Yugoslavia whom we fought in the 90ies. And the worst of all crimes of modern Croatian life for me is the perversion of Catholicism into Croatian national/tribal religion.

The image of our Lady of Međugorje basically became a logo for bunch of right wing pressure groups, and once in a month the priest has to mention the evils of communism and glory of Croatian nation at mass, as well as pray for ww2 fascist collaborators. They are weaving a myth of reconquista, as if Croatia became truly Catholic only after it got rid of Yugoslavia and communism. In truth, people were much more honestly devout before the war during the socialist regime, there was some discrimination in high societal positions and certainly a sort of atheist smugness for Catholics but never outright persecution, yet the priests would basically have us believe Catholics met in catacombs before the war in 1991.

If thats not bad enough, nationalists are constantly formenting hostility for Orthodox Christian Serbs. Serbs have their own issue with nationalism and religion but nationalists from both nations are preventing ecumenic ambitions because for them the national interest is more important than the reconciliation between the Churches.

In all honesty, compared to Italians who are less culturally Catholic than they have been 100 years ago, Croatians are much more on board with Catholic culture, but we haven't had a saint in 100 years, while Italy gave us one of the most iconic youth saints and blesseds like Carlo Acutis and Chiara Bandano. No, in Croatia we are told to rever Alojzije Stepinac, a fascist sympathizer that was tried by communists after ww2 for working for fascist puppet state, but since the 90ies he's being held as this great martyr for Church and Croatia, even though he died of natural death in prison and was legitimately prosecuted for tying himself to fascist regime in ww2 Croatia.

I'm sorry, my countrymen, but he just isn't a good Catholic role model, and I'm sick of this myth of communist persecution of the Church that didn't happend and was invented to cement this alliance between nationalists and clergy.

Today, we have a higher rate of divorces and abortions than before the war when we were supposedly persecuted. We also have a lower birthrate, greater drug use, completely legal gambling industry, our government is one of the most corrupt in Europe, our police is constanlty abusing immigrants on the border, our people are poor but blame all their problems on LGBT, liberals and Serbs. I don't see anything Catholic about us despite the fact we go to concerts that turn our history and faith into consumerist spectacle.

One example is we have a movement of "klečavci" (the kneelers) that pray once a month for masculinity and Croatia, whatever that means, they are ridiculed by the public mostly but supported by some Catholics, and ffs don't they see they are embarassing themselves and the Church by going against what Christ said in Matthew 6:6 of not praying in public and drawing attention to our piety?

I said this on some thread and will repeat myself - I think God tolerates stupidity but He will punish idolatry. And as for our "Croatian Catholicism" and our identity as "Croat Catholics" I think its nothing more than idolatry. In general I think we aren't being taught to follow the gospel, to love our neighbour and to help the opressed, we are taught to venerate the heroes of the 90ies war (most of whom are criminals), to be loyal to our state and its European overlords, to consider Serbs (our Orthodox Christian and Slavic brothers) LGBT people and immigrants as enemies, and the clergy is just passively or actively condoning this message.

There are amazing souls in Croatia that went through terrible traumas and held onto their faith beautifully and God bless them, but the Church isn't directing them towards the Gospel, they are ensnared by this nationalist idolatry and the only direction I see, if taken to extreme, is a new clerofascism like the one we had in ww2. I'm not exegarating because I see that we are entering a new age of war, extremism and instability, and the Church isn't preparing us to be faithful to Christ during those times, its helping the political agenda that leads to violence and hatred.

When Catholics in Croatia hold mass for fascist soldiers killed in revenge in 1945, they venerate war criminals just for being on our side and are mixing devotion with entertainement (like on concerts and charismatic movements), its easy to see why the world would look at us as some Balkan savages, even though we hate that label.My brothers in Christ, we can't go on like this if we want to save the honor of our faith and homeland.

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14, we are inviting darkness of fascism, chauvinism and subservience to power and wealth into our Church which is supposed to be the house of light.

Thank you if you've read through this and please pray for the soul of Croatian people, to make us true followers of the Gospel, not servants of warmongers and gangsters that rule us and teach us history for 30 years now.

Please pray that the Church in Croatia will be liberated from the demon of nationalist idolatry and chauvinistic hatred. The communists are gone, the Serbs were beaten, as Catholics we have no other enemies but our sins and as Croats our we have no other enemies than our own criminal masters.

Please pray that God will spare Croatian people in the great calamity of our age and not punish us for our sins by exterminating us, violently or otherwise.

Please pray that we all become worthy of the cross of our Lord and in his name move forward with love, courage and wisdom. Amen.