Original scientific paper
Some important moments in the public life of Archbishop Stadler during the First World War
Milenko Krešić
orcid.org/0000-0001-5745-0254
; University of Sarajevo - Catholic Theological Faculty in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
The author analyses some of the important moments in the public life of Archbishop Josip Stadler during the First World War, on three themes: the Archbishop's reaction to the Sarajevo Assassination and the beginning of the First World War, the Archbishop's pastoral-charitable work during the war, and the Archbishop's advocacy for the survival of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and a solution to the Croatian question within the Monarchy. The topics are addressed in the context of war events. Archbishop Stadler viewed the Sarajevo Assassination as an attack on the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and as such he condemned it and subsequently identified Serbia as the main cause of the beginning of the war, which, according to him, was not intended only to destroy a portion of Croat territory, as part of which he counted Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also to destroy Catholicism in these countries. One of the Archbishop's important activities during the war was to help people who were in various types of difficulty as a result of the conflict. He repeatedly appealed to the clergy and to the faithful in his Archdiocese, and by example he showed them how to engage in various charitable actions to help those who had strayed, regardless of their religious affiliation. At the beginning of 1918 he was accused by one of the Croatian newspapers of not being a humanitarian, but rather a usurer because he intended to sell some grain from his estate and settle some of his debts. The analysis of archive documents shows that this accusation was simply malicious. When the Slavic question in the southern part of the Monarchy started, the Archbishop presented his proposal. He was committed to the survival of the Catholic Monarchy within which a Croatian state would exist and Bosnia and Herzegovina would be its integral part.
Keywords
Archbishop Stadler; Sarajevo Assassination; First World War; Pastoral Charity; Croatian Question; Survival of the Monarchy.
Hrčak ID:
260075
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2020.
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