Original scientific paper

Glas Koncila - a True Mission or Simply a Name: Analysis of the Commentaries During the Period of Social Transition in Croatia

Marinović Bobinac Ankica orcid.org/0000-0002-0120-0173 ; Institut for Social Research in Zagreb
Golberger Goran ; Institut for Social Research in Zagreb

Abstract

In the text the authors discuss the transition period in Croatia and its social and religious changes. They explain the social context of the country where Catholicism has become an important part of the individual and collective identity and present the history of the Catholic Church in Croatia. The text presents the results (frequency and percentage) of analysed commentaries which appeared in Glas Koncila (a weekly newspaper of the Catholic Church) and their attitude towards dominant topics, such as the relations between the Church and the state, some political events, other religious communities, “Croatian themes”, reevangelization, the Vatican and the world, the actors of the transition period in Croatia from 1990 to 2004. The working hypothesis has been confirmed: the Church was an active participant in some aspects of transitional changes and it showed different attitudes to themes and actors in the analysed periods. The frequency of dominant themes and actors was defined by the specific social transition in Croatia. The first period (1990–1994) was characterised by the war of independence and the creation of a national state. The Church supported the elected government and worked on the revival of the Croatian national feelings.“Croatian themes” and some social and political themes were equally present in the commentaries The second period (1995–1999) was marked by the end of the war, a very difficult political and economic situation, the Church support of the government, further strengthening of the national feelings, a serious criticism of the HDZ government towards the end of this period, President Tuđman’s death and the end of the HDZ largely authoritarian government. “Croatian themes” were mostly present in the commentaries. In the third period (2000-2004) the government changed, Croatia opened to reforms, global and integration processes. The Church was openly against the new,”left” government and criticized it much more strongly than in the previous period. Finally, it became more sensitive to “the changes in time” and started dealing, in its way, with “the sin of structures”: some political and social themes were almost ten times more present than “Croatian themes”.

Keywords

Croatia; period of transition; religious revival; the Catholic Church; Glas Koncila; commentaries; content analysis

Hrčak ID:

20652

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/20652

Publication date:

20.2.2008.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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