Original scientific paper
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE WAR IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 1992 – 1995
Jure KRIŠTO
Abstract
During the aggression of Serbia, JNA (Yugoslav Peoples’ Army), with the help of local Serbs in Croatia and later in Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives of the Catholic Church did not have many possibilities to influence political and military development.
They have tried to stop the War and lessen its consequences through numerous public appeals, meetings with the representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church and preaching the Gospel values. During the War the Church was most efficient in charitable activities,
especially regarding protection of Muslim and Catholic refugees from Croatia and later from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Still, ecclesiastical representatives could not avoid defense of their recognizable political
standpoints. Croatian Bishops’ Conference openly supported referendum for Croatian independence, which was consequently maintained in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the same token, they did not support rebellion of the local Serbs, which was accompanied with numerous murders, persecutions of the Croatian population and demolishing of churches, hospitals, cultural institutions and plundering of the national treasures. Although the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina was not established before
8 December 1994, Catholic bishops from Bosnia and Herzegovina started to act independently from the Croatian Bishops’ Conference already in the summer of 1991.When we are speaking about political influence of the Catholic Church in Bosnia at that time, one has
to know that all these activities were narrowed to two main persons: Vinko Puljić the Archbishop of the Vrhbosna Diocese and fra Petar Anđelović the Provincial of the Franciscan Province Bosnia Argentina. Bishops of Diocese of Mostar and Duvno, Pavao Žanić, and
later Ratko Perić, acted differently since their local circumstances were different from the situation that was in Bosnia. One could say the same about the activities of the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina. These different political circumstances in Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted with different political standpoints that these ecclesiastical representatives started to support, especially
regarding the ultimate position of Croats in the future organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, while the ecclesiastical elite from Herzegovina accepted cantonal division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hoping that in this way they will secure a compact and homogeneous territory that would preserve constitutive rights of Croats in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bosnian ecclesiastical representatives opposed the idea of cantonization, since they were afraid that in this was the established borders of dioceses would be destroyed, which would consequently lead to the »dissection« of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Such political differences became even more complicated when alliance between Croats and Muslims vanished and war started between them, which revealed that Muslims can act equally severe towards Croats as Serbs previously did. Consequently, archbishop
Puljić started to support the aforementioned »dissection«, while the Provincial of Bosnia Argentina opposed any further talk about the cantonization. Still, further political and military development leveled these political differences and revealed that both sides
were primarily concerned about the future of the diocesan borders and existence of the Catholic dioceses in Bosnia, since they were afraid that any »dissection« of Bosnia would lead to »humane relocation« and more probably to persecution of the Catholic believers. Croatian president Franjo Tuđman has tried to explain the necessity of the cantonization of Bosnia and Herzegovina to all the Bosnian political and ecclesiastical representatives, but he has failed in this attempt. Moreover, some proclaimed him the chief promoter of the »dissection« of Bosnia, and named him the main cause of all the misfortune that struck upon Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, ecclesiastical representatives have realized to what extend these suggestions were beneficial for the Bosnian Croats
only when other nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to organize themselves according to their own whishes.
Keywords
Bosnia; Province of Bosnia Argentina; Provincial; archbishop; bishops; policy; international community; Muslims/Bosnians; Serbs; Croats; Franjo Tuđman; USA
Hrčak ID:
144082
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2015.
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