The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanic, on Monday received Karolina Vidovic Kristo, editor of a Croatian Television (HTV) programme that has been taken off the air because of its controversial coverage of the proposed sexual education curriculum in schools.
The Zagreb Archdiocese said in a press release that the move was a direct blow to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, noting that the show aimed to save the public broadcaster from "intolerable uniformity".
Vidovic Kristo informed the archbishop about the programme, called "A Portrait of Croatia", and events that followed its coverage of the proposed sexual education curriculum under the title "Pedophilia as the foundation of sexual education?".
Bozanic and Vidovic Kristo concluded that the TV programme approached the issue from different angles in the interest of the public, adding that the fundamental task of a public broadcaster was to make it possible for different social groups to present their views on controversial public issues so that the audience could get the fullest possible picture of the issue in question.
They expressed hope that common sense and democratic behaviour would prevail in this case.
