Canonisation of Stepinac – Croatia, the War, and the Future

Life and Times Of Croatia’s Blessed Alojzije Stepinac – A Robin Harris Book

From left: Robin Harris (historian and author),
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (Croatian president)
and Zeljko Tanjic (Rector, Croatian Catholic University)
PHOTO: predsjednica.hr

It was Friday 21 October 2016 when in Zagreb Croatia, accompanied by the Croatian Catholic University rector Zeljko Tanjic, the well-known British historian, publicist, writer and an important adviser to the former United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – Robin Harris, presented a copy of his new book “Stepinac – His Life and Times” to the president of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic.

“Stepinac – His Life and Times” is the first all-encompassing biography of Alojzije (Aloysius) Stepinac, Cardinal Archbishop of Zagreb during WWII whose deeds and persona have been subject to controversies ever since WWII, mounted and perpetuated by the communists of Yugoslavia and their friends.
“For the last seventy years—ever since his show-trial in 1946—Alojzije Stepinac, Cardinal Archbishop of Zagreb, has been the subject of controversy. In this book, Robin Harris explores recently available original sources, including Secret Police files stored in the Croatian State Archives, to find out the truth. Stepinac led the Catholic Church in Croatia during dangerous times. As a young, untested Archbishop, he confronted authoritarian rule under the First Yugoslavia. After the Axis Powers invaded in 1941, he struggled to steer the right course through the bloody chaos of the Second World War. For the last years of his life, in prison and then interned in the parish where he was born, he inspired the Croatian Catholic resistance to Communist persecution. Stepinac shared the fate of other Church leaders, like Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary, who were vilified and imprisoned by the new Communist rulers of Eastern Europe. But the campaign against him, originated by the Communist Party, was, and still is, exceptionally ferocious and persistent. Accused of complicity with War-time atrocities, the Zagreb Archbishop’s role in this period is also important in the wider arguments about that of Pope Pius XII. Stepinac often had limited room for manoeuvre. A deeply spiritual man and never regarding politics as his metier, he had to calculate the best way to save lives when violence threatened, and to preserve the Faith—and loyalty to the Holy See—when Tito worked to destroy both. Pope Saint John Paul II beatified Stepinac in 1998. The canonisation was announced as imminent—until the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church protested to Pope Francis. This book should ensure that a full and objective assessment of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac can be made,” writes gracewing Catholic publishing of UK on its website.

“Stepinac – His Life and Times”
by Robin Harris
cover

Emphasising the importance of this book in the English language Croatian Catholic University Rector Zeljko Tanjic said Friday 21 October at the Universiy’s launch of Harris’ book that the book was the fruit of a lovely friendship between Dr Robin Harris and two Croatian cultural greats based in London – Chris Cvijic i dr. Branko Franolic, to whom the book is dedicated. Rector Tanjic said also that the fact that Dr Harris has recently become a lecturer at the faculty of history of the Croatian Catholic University presents a very high honour for the university. Furthermore, Tanjic said, the book is equally the fruit of the author’s longstanding studying and research into documentary evidence pertaining to Stepinac’s life and the times he lived in. Dr Tanjic reiterated that Harris’ book represents an exceptionally important contribution to the Croatian national and religious history.

The contents of the book are spread across 409 pages, 12 chapters as well as four interesting addendums: Stepinac’s speech in the court; the list of a number of officials in the administration of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during 1930’s according to their religious belonging; a text that explains whether Stepinac was poisoned and Stepinac’s spiritual testament in the English language.

This is a complete biography of Alojzije Stepinac in the English language, the first after 25 years of Croatian independence and according to Dr Tanjic, copies of this book should be held at all Croatian diplomatic and consular missions across the world, it was after all written by a competent author and being written in English it contributes to the internationalization of Alojzije Stepinac’s canonisation process in the context of the mixed commission of the Catholic Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church which is addressing the issue.

Harris especially thanked the Croatian Cardinal Josip Bozanic and mons. Ivan Sasko for the support they provided to him in writing his book. Robin Harris emphasized that to him as a historian the truth has always been paramount and, hence, the aim of his book from its beginnings had always remained the same – research, understand and describe the truth about Stepinac.

Stepinac’s life has been the subject of most detailed studies because of the many malicious allegations against him, from the rigged court process (in 1946) till today. “From all the collected sources today we know that Stepinac justifiably said at the end of his trial: ‘I say publicly before the whole of the present public, even if that public laughs, before the diplomatic core, if any are present, before the foreign journalists – if I really am convicted, I say before God that I have been convicted as an innocent, my conscience is clear and the future will show that I was right’,” Harris emphasised.

In the hope that his book will help the Pope’s ecumenical pursuits for a better relationship between Churches and generally help towards a positive solution to all the questions associated with Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, Harris concluded: “A better understanding of the historical reality as a step towards forgiveness is something every sensible man needs to wish for.”

Dr Robin Harris
presenting his new book
“Stepinac – His Life and Times”
In Zagreb, Croatia
21 October 2016
Photo: HKS (Croatian Catholic University)

Harris said that there are many lies and untruths about Stepinac. It is not important only for Croatia and the Church, but the world, to know the truth and that is my aim.
With regard to availability of some documents in Croatian archives, Harris stressed that this was a general problem because archives about communist crimes are still confidential, which he said is shameful and unacceptable.

I think that we know everything that is important to know about Stepinac however, it is shameful that those archives have not been completely opened. That isn’t a matter of lustration, but of realising the truth and cleansing society, Harris said.

Further to contributing towards Stepinac’s canonisation process Rector Tanjic announced the coming presentation of the book in both the Croatian and the English languages, with summaries and excerpts in Italian, of the works and presentations put forth at last year’s forum in Zagreb called “Arxhbishop Stepinac and the Serbs in Croatia in the context of Worl War II and post-WWII”.

A few years ago in a lecture he delivered at the Croatian Catholic University Robin Harris said that Blessed Alojzije Stepinac was a shiny example of resistance against totalitarianism and certainly his new book “Stepinac – His Life and Times” has a great deal of evidence and truth upon which this shiny example rests. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)

Croatia: Rebutting Accusations Against Blessed Aloysius Stepinac

Zagreb Croatia 24 November 2015
From Right: Zeljko Reiner, Croatian parliamentarian,
dr Esther Gitman, historian and author,
Archbishop Zelimir Puljic, Croatian Bishops’ Conference,
Cardinal Josip Bozanic and
Zeljko Tanjic, Rector Croatian Catholic University
Photo: B. Covic

Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1998, Croatia’s WWII Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac – falsely and wrongfully accused and condemned as Nazi collaborator by Josip Broz Tito and his Yugoslav communists – still awaits canonisation. In this day and age of political correctness getting in the way of truth, a new element has been introduced – it seems – in the Catholic Church’s canonisation decision-making and that element has to do with what Serb and Serbia (who are predominantly of Orthodox Church) think about Stepinac being proclaimed a Saint of the Catholic Church. What an outrage! One finds it most difficult to comprehend why opinions are sought from Tito’s communists or their descendants who wrongfully accused Stepinac as Nazi collaborator were Serbs in many cases, as well as some communist Jews, and are not likely to admit today that they and/or their political predecessors were wrong and lied!
Hence the need to defend the innocent and good Blessed Aloysius Stepinac from lies, mud and concocted history – a sad fact of today’s mad political correctness by which one permits the propagation of falsehoods so that one avoids possibly insulting the emotions of the propagator of falsehoods. The Catholic Church, with his beatification, had examined thousands of documents and testimony, and had no doubts – (see Vatican insider) – today some Serbs and some Jews (all former communists or their allies as far as I can see) have made it their business to try and stop or obstruct Stepinac’s canonisation. The latest pathetic line of “criticism” is that although Stepinac did save Jews and others from peril during WWII he could have done more!

A world leader in historical research of the truth pertaining to the rescue of Jews in WWII Croatia, Dr Esther Gitman held a lecture in Zagreb, Croatia on Monday 23 November 2015 – ” Dr. Alojzije Stepinac, Archbishop of Zagreb in the trial organised by Tito’s regime, historians and current Serbian government” – as introduction to the one day conference held on 24 November 2015: “Archbishop Stepinac and Serbs in Croatia in the context of World War II and post-war period“. The conference was organised jointly by the Archdiocese of Zagreb and the Croatian Catholic University.

Introducing dr. Gitman, the Croatian Catholic University Rector, dr. Zeljko Tanjic, briefly talked about her 2011 book “When courage Prevailed – the Rescue and Survival of Jews in the Independent State of Croatia 1941-1945“, after which dr. Gitman has regularly addressed issues pertaining to Jews in Croatia during World War II and the matter of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac’s innocence. She was a visiting professor at the University during the 2013/2014 academic year where she held courses on rescuing Jews, and last summer published a notable study of rescuing Jews.
Dr. Gitman proceeded to say that her presentation, based on facts and scientific research, would defend Stepinac as the man who made great efforts in alleviating human suffering and, thus, refute the allegations made against him during the last seven decades. As the guiding foundation of her lecture she used Archbishop Stepinac;’s 1941 memorandum to the Catholic priests and parishes in Croatia in response to the Croatian government’s attempts to force conversions of Orthodox and Jewish people to Catholicism:

“When you are visited by people of the Jewish or Eastern Orthodox faith, whose lives are in danger and who express the wish to convert to Catholicism, accept them in order to save human lives. Do not require any special religious knowledge from them, because the Eastern Orthodox are Christians like ourselves, and the Jewish faith is the faith from which Christianity draws its roots. The role and duty of Christians is, in the first place to save people. When this time of madness and of savagery passes, those who would convert out of conviction will remain in our church, while the others, after the danger passes, will return to their church.”

Dr Esther Gitman
Screenshot 24 November 2015 Croatian HRT TV

Dr Gitman made a point of saying that the foundation of anti-Semitism in the region that includes Serbia between the two World Wars does not lie in the Croatian Ustashe movement as some would want us to believe but in the media organisations and publishers that published and promoted books such as “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion“. Brochures were published in Serbia, despite a court ban. She reminded the audience at the conference that in 1938 Anton Korosec, Yugoslav minister of interior affairs, stated that in (Kingdom of) Yugoslavia (which by the way was under Serbian King rule) the Jewish question does not exist but pronounced the fleeing Jews as undesirables. In contrast to Korosec, Archbishop Stepinac in 1939 appealed to the faithful to help Jews, because it is a Christian duty to do so. In 1938 Stepinac hoped that Germany’s interest in Russia would keep war away from the South Slavs, and that Croats will have the opportunity to fight for their own state ruled by law and justice. In a meeting with students he said: “The love of man towards his people should not turn him into a wild animal that crashes all and acts in revenge, but rather enrich him so that he may obtain respect and love for his people from others.”

Sarcophagus of
Blessed Alojzije Stepinac
in Zagreb, Croatia

Dr Gitman pointed out that some historians have criticized Stepinac’s behavior during the Ustasha regime. Their claim was that a person in his position could do and could have done much more (to save Jews and others from death…). Such statements do not prove or support the facts. Can any historian today point to any concrete action that could have been implemented then and have resulted in positive outcome? I say no, Dr Gitman was resolute and concluded: “My goal today was to portray Stepinac in his role as Archbishop of Zagreb during WWII. His position was unenviable because he found himself between ‘a hammer and an anvil’, between the Nazis and the Communists. He acted as a loyal servant of the Roman Catholic Church and humanity, never abandoning his faith, moral law as his guidance. He condemned the inhumane behaviour of the Ustashe regime at every occasion“.

She concluded her lecture with the word of the Holocaust historian Raul Hilberg: “the Churches, once with powerful presence in Europe, reached the lowest point of their influence during WWII, incapable of retaining their independence against secular regimes. Despite that, during the War years, Stepinac followed only one maxim, and that was: only one race exists, and that is God’s race“.

Other participants in the conference on 24 November 2014 were: dr Ivica Sute (Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb), dr Tomislav Anic (Croatian Catholic University) dr. Mario Jareb (Croatian Institute of history), dr. Milan Koljanin (The Institute of Modern History, Belgrade, Serbia), dr. Radmila Radic (Institute for Newer History of Serbia, Belgrade), dr. Miroslav Akmadza (Croatian History Institute), dr. sc. Jure Kristo (Croatian History Institute and Croatian Catholic University), dr. Mario Kevo (Croatian Catholic University), dr. Robin Harris (journalist and author, Centre for culture restoration, Zagreb/ former member of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher policy unit), mons. Juraj Batelja (head of cause of beatification of Alojzije Stepinac).

Celebrating the wonderful truth of Blessed Aloysius Stepinac and his work on saving and rescuing the Jews should not be this difficult but it is. It is difficult because others tied to Tito and Yugoslav communists – lied; the lies stick. Truth does prevail in the end, though, and that is comforting. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps.(Syd)