Roman Catholicism in Croatia

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Cathedral of St. Duje in Split in Split, the oldest cathedral in the world
Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik (UNESCO-World Heritage)

Roman Catholicism in Croatia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.

There are an estimated 3.8 million baptised Roman Catholics in Croatia, roughly 85% of the population. The national sanctuary of Croatia is in Marija Bistrica. The patron of Croatia is Saint Joseph since the Croatian Parliament declared him to be in 1687.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

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[edit] The Church in the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire

The Austrian Empire signed a concordat with the Holy See in 1855 which regulated the Catholic Church within the empire.[2]

[edit] The Church in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

In Yugoslavia, the Croatian bishops were part of the Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia.

The Serbian Orthodox Church acted as a de-facto national church of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During this period, a Serbian Orthodox church was built on the almost entirely Catholic island of Vis and a part of the local population began converting.[3]

[edit] The Church in the Independent State of Croatia

Main article: Involvement of Croatian Catholic clergy with the Ustasa regime

In 1941, the Independent State of Croatia was established by the Ustaša puppet regime with Ante Pavelić as its leader. The Independent State of Croatia was one of several Nazi puppet states. The Ustaša regime pursued a genocidal policy against the Serbs (who were Eastern Orthodox Christians), Jews and Roma.

The creation of the Independent State of Croatia was welcomed by most of Roman Catholic priests and the entire hierarchy of the Church.[citation needed] However, one notable figure of the Croatian Catholic Church, Bishop Alojzije Stepinac, made public statements criticising developments in the ISC. On Sunday May 24, 1942 to the irritation of Ustaša officials, he used the pulpit and a diocesan letter to condemn genocide in specific terms:

All men and all races are children of God; all without distinction. Those who are Gypsies, Black, European, or Aryan all have the same rights.... for this reason, the Catholic Church had always condemned, and continues to condemn, all injustice and all violence committed in the name of theories of class, race, or nationality. It is not permissible to persecute Gypsies or Jews because they are thought to be an inferior race.[4]

He also wrote directly to Pavelić, saying on February 24, 1943:

The very Jasenovac camp is a stain on the honor of the ISC. Poglavnik! To those who look at me as a priest and a bishop I say as Christ did on the cross: Father forgive them for they know not what they do.[5]

[edit] The Church in communist Yugoslavia

In 1945, the retired bishop of Dubrovnik Josip Marija Carević was murdered by Yugoslav authorities.[6] Bishop Josip Srebrnić was sent to jail for two months.[7] After the war, the number of Catholic publications in Yugoslavia decreased from one hundred to only three.[8]

In 1946, the communist regime introduced the Law on State Registry Books which allowed the confiscation of church registries and other documents.[9] On January 31, 1952 the communist regime banned religious education in public schools.[10] That year the regime also expelled the Catholic Faculty of Theology from the University of Zagreb, to which it was not restored until democratic changes in 1991.[11][12]

In 1984, the Catholic Church held a National Eucharistic Congress in Marija Bistrica.[13] The central mass held on September 9 was attended by 400,000 people, including 1100 priests, 35 bishops and archbishops, as well as five cardinals. The mass was led by cardinal Franz König, a friend of Aloysius Stepinac from their early studies. In 1987 the Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia issued a statement calling on the government to respect the right of parents to obtain a religious education for their children.[14]

[edit] The Church in the Republic of Croatia

With Croatian democratization and independence, the Croatian Bishops' Conference was formed. The Croatian Bishops' Conference established Croatian Catholic Radio in 1997.[15]

[edit] Hierarchy

Within Croatia the hierarchy consists of:

Archdioceses and dioceses Croatian name (Arch-)Bishop Est. Cathedral Weblink
Archdiocese of Zagreb Zagrebačka nadbiskupija Cardinal Josip Bozanić 1093 Zagreb Cathedral [1]
Eparchy of Križevci (Greek-Catholic) Križevačka biskupija Slavomir Miklovš 1777 [2]
Diocese of Varaždin Varaždinska biskupija Josip Mrzljak 1997 [3]
Diocese of Sisak Sisačka biskupija Vlado Košić 2009
Diocese of Bjelovar-Križevci Bjelovarsko-križevačka biskupija Vjekoslav Huzjak 2009
Archdiocese of Đakovo-Osijek Đakovačko-osiječka nadbiskupija Marin Srakić 4th century Sr. Peter and St. Paul [4]
Diocese of Požega Požeška biskupija Antun Škvorčević 1997 St. Teresa of Ávila [5]
Diocese of Srijem (in Serbia) Srijemska biskupija Djuro Gašparović 2008 [6]
Archdiocese of Rijeka Riječka nadbiskupija Ivan Devčić 1920 St. Vid [7]
Diocese of Gospić-Senj Gospićko-senjska biskupija Mile Bogović 2000 [8]
Diocese of Krk Krčka biskupija Valter Župan 900 [9]
Diocese of Poreč-Pula Porečko-pulska biskupija Ivan Milovan 3rd century Euphrasian Basilica [10]
Archdiocese of Split-Makarska Splitsko-makarska nadbiskupija Marin Barišić 3rd century St. Duje [11]
Diocese of Dubrovnik Dubrovačka biskupija Želimir Puljić 990 Assumption Cathedral [12]
Diocese of Hvar Hvarska biskupija Slobodan Štambuk 12th century St. Stephen [13]
Diocese of Kotor (in Montenegro) Kotorska biskupija Ilija Janjić 10th century St. Tryphon [14]
Diocese of Šibenik Šibenska biskupija Ante Ivas 1298 St. James [15]
Archdiocese of Zadar Zadarska nadbiskupija Ivan Prenđa 1054 St. Anastasia [16]
Military Ordinariate Vojni ordinarijat Juraj Jezerinac 1997 [17]
The Strossmayer-Cathedral of Đakovo in Slavonia

The bishops are organized into the Croatian Conference of Bishops, which is presided by the Archbishop of Đakovo-Osijek Mons. Marin Srakić.

There are also historical bishoprics, including:

[edit] Franciscans

There are three Franciscan provinces in the country:

[edit] Places of Pilgrimage of the Croats

[edit] Notable people

[edit] References

  1. ^ Relief of Saint Joseph placed in Parliament
  2. ^ Ljiljana Dobrovšak. Ženidbeno (bračno) pravo u 19. stoljeću u Hrvatskoj
  3. ^ History of the island of Vis
  4. ^ Apud: Dr. H. Jansen, Pius XII: chronologie van een onophoudelijk protest, 2003, p. 151
  5. ^ Alojzije Viktor Stepinac: 1896-1960
  6. ^ Religious Communities in Croatia from 1945 to 1991
  7. ^ Akmadža, Miroslav. Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj i komunistički režim 1945 - 1966.. Rijeka: Otokar Keršovani, 2004. (pg. 69)
  8. ^ Mitja Velikonja. Religious Separation and Political Intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Texas A&M University Press, 2003. (p. 200)
  9. ^ Miroslav Akmadža. Oduzimanje crkvenih matičnih knjiga u Hrvatskoj u vrijeme komunizma
  10. ^ Akmadža, Miroslav. Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj i komunistički režim 1945-1966.. Biblioteka Svjedočansta. Rijeka, 2004. (pg. 93)
  11. ^ Goldstein, Ivo. Croatia: A History . McGill Queen's University Press, 1999. (pg. 169)
  12. ^ Catholic Faculty of Theology History
  13. ^ How Gospa destroyed the SFRY, Globus
  14. ^ Sabrina P. Ramet. Catholicism and politics in communist societies. Duke University Press, 1990. (p. 194)
  15. ^ Hrvatski katolički radio u povodu 10. obljetnice emitiranja, Glas Koncila

[edit] External links

Croatia portal
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