Catholic Priests and the Liberalisation of the School System in the Triune Kingdom in 1874

Abstract

The second half of the 19th century was marked by the secularisation of the school system, which was present in most European countries, including the Triune Kingdom. However, there were no other “threats” to the Church’s historical rights (registers, jurisdiction over marriages, the introduction of divorces) as was the case elsewhere, which is proof of the Church’s deep involvement in political, cultural, and public life, but is also the consequence of unfinished national integration as a precondition for later reforms in the spirit of modernisation. Since there was no conflict between liberals and representatives of the Catholic Church in the Triune Kingdom, it is unsurprising that only two laws that tended towards reducing the competences of the Catholic Church in the spirit of modernisation were enacted during the “Long 19th Century”. One of them was the so-called Mažuranić School Law of 1874. Much was written in the press about this law as it was about to be introduced – most comments were positive, save those of the Katolički list (Catholic Paper), which was of Church provenance. Teachers’ assemblies and associations also supported the reform and modernisation of the education system. It is therefore apparent that Mažuranić and the school reform enjoyed the support of the broader public, save for the Church.
The parliamentary debate on Mažuranić’s law showed that those defending the rights of the Church were in the minority. Namely, out of nine members who spoke then, four were against the law, all of them priests (Vučetić, Lehpamer, Mihalović, Šušković). Two priests (Jagić and Broz) generally accepted the draft of the law, while Odžić didn’t express an opinion, although later interventions show that he, too, eventually supported the draft. This should be viewed as the result of differing political stances among the clergy, which were linked to the lack of a political party representing exclusively Catholic interests – this meant that priests were dispersed among existing political options. The introductory speeches by government representative Jurković and parliamentary committee rapporteur Posilović attest to the important role of the Church in society – they were cautious, mild, and specifically highlighted that the goal was to secure the further cooperation between Church and state according to “the spirit of the times”. We believe that the modernisation of the school system was a matter of time, but it was certainly helped by the lack of unified opinions among the clergy as well as the lack of their organised activity. Coordination of the activity of the bishops was also lacking, at least regarding statements. Even though the stance of the Church after the law was enacted was negative, already in September 1875 it became accepting. The clergy continued to be active in public life and politics through party and parliamentary work. Therefore, we can see that the law did not have deeper consequences regarding the relations between the Church and the state, save for the disappointment of a number of priests, who refused to take up the positions of local school superintendents. On the other hand, the School Law is a clear example of the differing political affiliations of the clergy in the Triune Kingdom and the fact that there was no organised activity even when the rights of the Church were threatened, although this could be a result of the fact that none of these threats were serious.