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Parts of the letters that the Archbishop of Zagreb and Cardinal of the Catholic Church Mantenimientozije Stepinac sent to Pope Pius XII in 1941 have finally been published and will certainly shed a whole new light on Stepinac’s role in the persecution of Serbs, Jews and Roma in the Independent State of Croatia. It can be clearly seen from the letters that the Croatian cardinal was not only aware of the horrible persecution, but also supported it, justifying it with “less evil relative to what the Nazis would do.” At the same time, this knowledge, which the majority in Croatia narrow down, will make the aspirations to declare a saint Accommodationzije Stepinac even more questionable.
In letters mentioned recently in an interview with HRT by Patriarch Porphyry himself, Cardinal Stepinac writes openly about the introduction of racial laws in the NDH as “a way to please the Nazis”, noting that it is much less bad than the Croatian law. , rather than the Germans taking all power into their own hands. “Particularly controversial are the parts of the letter of June 14, 1941, in which Stepinac speaks with considerable indifference about the” liquidation of the schismatics, “as the orthodox called the orthodox.
– It is of great interest to Serbian schismatics to enter the Catholic Church. They certainly do so under the impression that the government supports Catholicism. But it cannot be denied that they are chased away by all the misery of the schismatic church … I believe that if Chief Pavelić were in charge of the government for 20 years, the schismatics would be completely liquidated from Croatia, Stepinac wrote literally to the Pope. Pius XII .hr.
“Either Croatia will be Catholic or it will disappear”
In the same letter, the Archbishop of Zagreb, asking the Holy See to recognize the Independent State of Croatia, took the opportunity to emphasize once again “what kind of struggle is at stake in the newly created Croatian State.”
– I have no doubt, Holy Father, that a desperate struggle for life or death is being waged here between the schism represented in Serbian and Catholicism represented in Croats.
In a letter dated May 16, 1941, Stepinac affirmed the need for the Orthodox population to convert to Catholicism.
– Since the government is Catholic, there is a large increase in the conversion of Orthodox Jews and schismatics. (with this term Stepinac calls the Orthodox Serbs) to Catholicism. We must be very careful when receiving them, because material interests are at stake, says Stjepinac, and then the letter ends with the following words that clearly say that he supported and advocated an ethnically and religiously pure NDH at all costs:
– In the end, completely honest, I can see that in the circles of power there is the greatest desire for Croatia to become a Catholic country. The Minister of War (Slavko Kvaternik) absolutely guaranteed me: either Croatia will be a Catholic country, or he will let it disappear “, writes Stepinac and concludes: – The desire of those who currently govern Croatia to implement the teachings of the Catholic Church obliges us to help them and let us support them with all our loyalty and strength.
At the time Stepinac is writing this letter, there has been a Danica camp near Koprivnica for several weeks, in which the Ustashas are taking hundreds (and soon thousands) of innocent Serbs and Jews. Two weeks before Stepinac’s letter, on April 28, the Ustash killed some two hundred Serbian peasants from the village of Gudovac near Bjelovar, and only three days before that letter (12/13 May), about 400 Serbs in and around Glina. . Of course, they are not the only innocent civilian victims of the Ustasha regime in the aforementioned period. And of course Archbishop Stepinac was immediately informed about all the cases mentioned above, which are not listed here.
The attitude of Patriarch Porfirio on Stepinac
The Patriarch of Porfirio recently spoke about Stepinac’s letters to the Pope in an interview with HRT. He responded very measuredly to the question about the canonization of Stepinac, praising the commitment of Pope Francis, and marked the work of the joint commission of representatives of the Catholic Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church as fruitful and useful. Then followed the phrase that provoked more reactions:
“I have in my hands the letters that Stepinac sent to Pius XII. And from where you can really find places that are deeply problematic. Which does not mean that he did not live a difficult time and that he can be seen in black and white”, said the patriarch in an interview.
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