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https://doi.org/10.22586/csp.v58i1.38767
Bishop Stjepan Bäuerlein, the “Đakovo Affair” of 1968 and the Communist Authorities
Slađana Josipović Batorek
; Odsjek za povijest, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
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* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
During the second half of the 1960s, Bishop Stjepan Bäuerlein of the Diocese of Đakovo and Srijem faced a series of accusations from within the Catholic Church concerning his administration of the diocese and his relationship with the clergy. The best-known of these was the so-called White Book, an extensive memorandum signed by ten diocesan priests and submitted to the Holy See in 1968. At the same time, a parallel campaign of anonymous leaflets and letters containing similar accusations emerged. Some of these were addressed to officials of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, while others were sent directly to Josip Broz Tito.
Whereas the White Book sought to initiate formal canonical proceedings against Bäuerlein, the anonymous campaign appears to have pursued a different objective: to discredit the bishop in the public sphere and encourage the communist authorities to contribute to his political and public marginalisation. Such expectations were undoubtedly based on the well-known tensions that had long characterised relations between Bishop Bäuerlein and the communist regime. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the authors of the anonymous letters expected the authorities to exploit the existence of internal ecclesiastical opposition and reinforce the negative image of the bishop presented in their accusations.
Contrary to these expectations, however, the communist authorities refrained from intervening in the dispute. Their response was shaped not by sympathy for Bäuerlein but by pragmatic political considerations. They concluded that involvement in an internal conflict within the Catholic Church would risk damaging the state's interests and jeopardising the ongoing process of normalising relations between the Yugoslav state and the Catholic Church.
Ključne riječi
Diocese of Đakovo and Srijem; Stjepan Bäuerlein; White Book; anonymous letters; communist authorities
Hrčak ID:
350879
URI
Datum izdavanja:
10.9.2026.
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