Preliminary communication
Church as an Inspirer of the Strossmayer Policy a Special Attickle on District Prefect’s Service
Slavko Slišković
; Katolički bogoslovni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
Josip Juraj Strossmayer (1815-1905) lived in times when religion was an integral part of social identity and church was an important factor on social and political fields. A particular confessional law was one of the oldest municipal rights and a symbol of the Croatian independence from Hungary. Already by his service as the bishop of Bosnia or Đakovo and Srijem he was at the top of the Virovitica county even without the title of district prefect and his charismatic personality contributed to his reputation. Last but not least it was the bishop’s conviction about connection between religious and national which he beautifully depicted in his motto ‘’All for faith and homeland’’. Acknowledging the existing political system, he emphasized frequently that ‘’each district comes from God’’, pointed out the responsibility which he carried within himself and he also did not accept abuses easily. Therefore he executed his service of district prefect without diminishing its importance and reputation but trying to use it for the benefit of nation. Those features found an agreeable combination in the bishop’s personality itself. In spite of deep inveteracy in aristocratic circles, he never forgot and hid his humble origins. The conviction which he especially showed at the First Vatican Council when he spoke of bishops’ friendly responsibility for a common church, that each authority segment contributes to a successful functioning of the whole, it encourages him as a district prefect to share joy and grief, concern and hope of whole Croatia and monarchy. His inaugural speech surpasses the county boundaries by far and to some extent the boundaries of political reality. He tends to convert the biblical ‘’Ode to love’’ into an actual social reality. In this way the district prefect Strossmayer did not forgo the primary bishop’s task to be a bearer of ideals. In spite of awareness of human weakness which does not allow their complete implementation, he still believes in a men strong enough not to take them away from him and defend him from anyone who attempts to do so. On a political field he conveys that faith onto the whole nation, especially because he takes over the service of a district prefect at the moment when the county institution meant the beginning of the old constitutional system restoration in Croatia. Impossibility to implement those ideals does not diminish their value but on the contrary they emphasize greatness and consistency of the person who lives up to them and is not ready to waste them. When the ideals were questioned, Strossmayer forgoes a district prefect’s dignity. Crushing strain and feeble influence contributed to it while there was an impression in public of his support to the current authorities. It should not be forgotten that he presided over a county known for its Unionist viewpoints and he too was forced to fight against the Vienna centralism, at the same time paying attention not to succumb to Magyarization. That’s the reason that in spite of his short presidency, he was proclaimed ‘’the originator of a new life in the Triune Kingdom’’ by the county assembly.
Keywords
Strossmayer; district prefect; religion; identity; church and policy
Hrčak ID:
21580
URI
Publication date:
27.12.2007.
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