Roman Catholicism in Croatia

Roman Catholicism in Croatia is part of the worldwide 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

History

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]

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]

The Church in the Independent State of Croatia

Main article: Catholic clergy involvement with the Ustaše

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. 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]

In December 1941, Chetniks killed a group of five nuns near Goražde. Yugoslav Partisans killed priests Petar Perica and Marijan Blažić on the island of Daksa on October 25, 1944. The Partisans killed fra Maksimilijan Jurčić near Vrgorac in late January, 1945.[6]

The Church in communist Yugoslavia

In 1945, the retired bishop of Dubrovnik, Josip Marija Carević, was murdered by Yugoslav authorities.[7] Bishop Josip Srebrnić was sent to jail for two months.[8] After the war, the number of Catholic publications in Yugoslavia decreased from one hundred to only three.[9]

In 1946, the communist regime introduced the Law on State Registry Books which allowed the confiscation of church registries and other documents.[10] On January 31, 1952, the communist regime banned religious education in public schools.[11] 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.[12][13]

In 1984, the Catholic Church held a National Eucharistic Congress in Marija Bistrica.[14] 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.[15]

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.[16]

Hierarchy

Within Croatia the hierarchy consists of:

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

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:

Franciscans

There are three Franciscan provinces in the country:

Other orders

Places of Pilgrimage of the Croats

Notable people

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. ^ Partizan Jure Galić: Moji suborci pobili su 30 Vrgorčana, Slobodna Dalmacija
  7. ^ Religious Communities in Croatia from 1945 to 1991
  8. ^ Akmadža, Miroslav. Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj i komunistički režim 1945 - 1966.. Rijeka: Otokar Keršovani, 2004. (pg. 69)
  9. ^ Mitja Velikonja. Religious Separation and Political Intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Texas A&M University Press, 2003. (p. 200)
  10. ^ Miroslav Akmadža. Oduzimanje crkvenih matičnih knjiga u Hrvatskoj u vrijeme komunizma
  11. ^ Akmadža, Miroslav. Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj i komunistički režim 1945-1966.. Biblioteka Svjedočansta. Rijeka, 2004. (pg. 93)
  12. ^ Goldstein, Ivo. Croatia: A History . McGill Queen's University Press, 1999. (pg. 169)
  13. ^ Catholic Faculty of Theology History
  14. ^ How Gospa destroyed the SFRY, Globus
  15. ^ Sabrina P. Ramet. Catholicism and politics in communist societies. Duke University Press, 1990. (p. 194)
  16. ^ Hrvatski katolički radio u povodu 10. obljetnice emitiranja, Glas Koncila

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