The 27th International Theological Symposium on "Papacy: A Modern Understanding of a Sign Spoken Against " was held at University of Split’s Catholic Faculty of Theology.

University of Split’s Rector, prof. Dragan Ljutić Ph.D., opening the symposium, emphasized how the Catholic Faculty of Theology is an extremely important University component, which is becoming more and more renown, both at home and internationally. Prompt by the current unfortunate developments in Europe, Rector concluded:

- If we all listened to Church’s teachings, what the Pope says, there would be no wars.

Catholic Faculty of Theology’s Dean, prof. Mladen Parlov Ph.D. commented on the topic of this year's symposium:

- That papacy is a "sign spoken against" needs no elaboration; it is enough to remember that in a democratic society, where there is a three-way division of power and regular elections that lead to change in government, the claim that one can have "complete, supreme and general authority" over a large number of believers sounds outrageous. This scientific gathering will, I hope, help us better understand the role papacy has in Church and society, to gain a better understanding of the "sign spoken against", which is part of our Catholic identity.

Marko Mrše Ph.D., Provincial of the Franciscan Province of the Holy Redeemer, commented on University of Split Catholic Faculty of Theology’s activities:

- There are several forms of government, in both civil society and the Church, which is hierarchically organized. The key to Church’s authority is that it serves the realization of God’s kingdom which remains present through Jesus Christ and that is why the idea of authority is closely related to the work of Jesus Christ. When this authority refers to Jesus and his apostles, it has nothing to do with man’s power over another, but the power to do something for man - concludes priest Marko Mrše Ph.D.