Zagreb, (IKA) – Juraj Mirko Mataušić, a distinguished Croatian theologian, communicologist, university teacher and Catholic journalist, died on November 14 in Zagreb following a stroke. He was a priest and member of the Franciscan Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius, based in Zagreb. Juraj Mirko Mataušić was born on September 3, 1944, in Medsave near Samobor, to Juraj and Terezija née Vraneković Mataušić. On July 30, 1961, he entered the Order of Friars Minor in the Croatian Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius and took the name of Mirko. He made his first profession of vows on July 30, 1962, his solemn vows on December 8, 1969, and was ordained a priest in Zagreb on June 27, 1971.
After completing elementary school in Samobor and secondary school in Zagreb, he studied philosophy in Rijeka and theology in Zagreb and Münster (1965–1972). He also studied PR and communication theory in Münster (1972–1975) and Slavic studies and philosophy in Salzburg (1976–1977).
In 1984, he earned his doctorate in Salzburg with a dissertation entitled “Kroatische katholische Presse 1849. – 1900. Antemurale christianitatis” (Croatian Catholic Press, 1849–1900. The Bulwark of Christianity). His doctorate was nostrificated at the University of Zagreb on October 28, 1985.

Pastoral Activity
As a Franciscan priest, Fra Mirko served in many capacities in the Croatian Franciscan Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius: he was the Definitor from 1981 to 1984, the Secretary of the Province from 1984 to 1987, the Vicar of the Province from 1987 to 1990, and from 1990 to 1996 the Minister of the Province. From 2002 to 2005, he was in charge of permanent formation.
As a priest, he also ministered to Croatian workers in Germany and Austria, and led the Austrian parish in Zipf. After returning to Croatia, he worked in Zagreb at the monastery in Kaptol and the parish in Kozari bok. During the war, he particularly attended to the Franciscans and faithful living in the war zones. During the Battle of Vukovar, on several occasions he brought food and medicines to the Vukovar monastery. He organized prayer meetings for peace at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Kaptol and forged links with Catholic associations in other countries. Together with Boris Peterlin, he established the Christian Information Service (Kršćanska informativna služba [KIS]).
As a priest, he devoted particular attention to working with young people, founding the Young Catholics’ Movement (Pokret mladih katolika [POMAK]. He also initiated the movement Franciscan Youth (Franjevačka mladež [FRAMA]) in the Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius.
Starting in 2002, together with the psychologist Vesna Gračner, he conducted the program We Seek the Truth (Tražimo istinu) on Croatian Catholic Radio, from which arose the We Seek the Truth Association in which Fra Mirko Mataušić served as the spiritual advisor and co-leader of numerous seminars and workshops encompassing a psychological, pastoral and theological approach. He was also the co-leader of the monthly Family School for Parishioners of the Parish of the Most Precious Blood of Christ in Kozari bok.
Fra Mirko Mataušić was particularly engaged in the area of the social doctrine of the Church, on which he conducted a series of lectures, and initiated a number of events. His last project was lectures at a school for political engagement, in which he collaborated with members of the Franciscan Secular Order.

Journalistic Activity
While still a student, he was involved in writing and journalism. From 1971 to 1984, he was a correspondent from Germany and Austria for Croatian Catholic newspapers. Particularly notable were reports and stories about the lives of Croatian emigrants in Western Europe, which were published in the early seventies in the Christian family magazine Kana and later made into a book, Svaka se ulica zove Strasse (Every Street Is Called Strasse) published in 2014 by Kršćanska sadašnjost , where he was a journalist and editor from 1985 to 1990, and the editor-in-chief of the Liturgijsko-pastoralni listić (Liturgical-Pastoral Leaflet). Fra Mirko Mataušić was also the cofounder and editor of the ecumenical press agency Kršćanska informativna služba (Christian Information Service) (1991–1993), and one of the initiators of the founding of the Catholic news agency of the Church in Croatia. He was also the head of the press center for the first Apostolic Visit by Pope John Paul II to Croatia in 1994. At the request of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, he established and headed Croatian Catholic Radio (Hrvatski katolički radio) from 1994 to 2000 as the director and editor-in-chief. He was also a member of the first Council for Telecommunications and a regular contributor to the magazine Prilika (Opportunity) in the Catholic newspaper Glas Koncila (Voice of the Council). He regularly lectured on the mass media, the relationship between the Church and media, and training for the media. In 2003, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Croatian Association of Catholic Journalists.

Membership in Professional Organizations
Dr. Mirko Juraj Mataušić had been a member of the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP) since 1978. He participated in several international UCIP congresses (Vienna, New Dehli, Ruhpolding, Campos do Jordão …). Based upon the experiences of organizations of Catholic journalists in Germany and Austria, as well as other European countries, he initiated and founded similar associations in Croatia. He was the cofounder and President of the Association of Catholic Journalists in Yugoslavia (1988–1991) and the Croatian Association of Catholic Journalists (1991–2000.) Within the association framework, together with Suzana Vrhovski he organized and conducted courses for young journalists and established a system for awarding journalism scholarships.
He had been a member of the Committee of the Croatian Conference of Bishops for the Mass Media and the Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kommunikation und Medien—IAKM since 1994. He regularly participated as an expert advisor at meetings of the European Bishops’ Media Commission—CEEM and reported on the state of the Catholic media in Croatia.

Teaching Activity
At the Department of Journalism/Communicology, Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, from 1998 to 2013 he taught several courses on the history of journalism and the theory of media communication, and from 2003 to 2008 was the Chairman of the Department. From 2000 to 2013 at the Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, he taught an elective course on the mass media and pastoral activity, and for many years was a lecturer at the Institute for the Theological Culture of the Laity of the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb. He was also a lecturer at the Theology of Consecrated Life, where he taught a course on the media and consecrated life. Dr. Mataušić participated in many national and international symposia and colloquia, the most important of which included the following:
Symposium on Mahnić in Rome (Mahničev simpozij v Rimu) organized by the Slovenian Theological Academy in Rome, Rome, September 1989; Scientific Conference on the Zagreb Diocese and Zagreb, 1094–1994, Zagreb, November 3–5, 1994; the International Scientific Conference on the Croatian Catholic Movement, Zagreb/Krk, March 29–31, 2001; the International Scientific Symposium of Professors of Theology: Soteriology (Today), Đakovo, April 3–4, 2002; The Thirty-Second International Mogersdorf Cultural/Historical Symposium: Church, State and Society in the Pannonian Region in the Twentieth Century, Koprivnica, July 2–5, 2002; International Scientific Meeting on Christians and Politics, Split, October 24–25, 2002; International Scientific Colloquium on the Occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the founding of the Croatian Press Agency—IKA—Zagreb, Agency Journalism and the Christian Message, Zagreb, April 22, 2003; International Symposium on 725 Years of the Franciscans in Virovitica, Virovitica, October 17–19, 2005; Scientific Colloquium on Communication Science, Scientific Branches and Terminology, Zagreb, May 3, 2006; Scientific Meeting on the Impact of the Media on the Public, Zagreb, May 3, 2007; Scientific Symposium on the Occasion of the Fortieth Anniversary of Kršćanska sadašnjost, February 22, 2008; International Scientific Meeting on Croatian Scotism of the Twentieth Century, Zagreb—Katuni—Split, May 27–29, 2008; Colloquium on the Occasion of the Fortieth Anniversary of the Document Communio et progressio, June 20, 2012, Dialogue and Public Awareness in the Church; Symposium on the Occasion of the One Hundredth Anniversary of Rijeka Newspapers, December 11, 2012; The First Croatian Diaspora Congress, June 2014.

Scientific Projects
Dr. Mataušić initiated and participated in a socio-religious study of faith and morals in Croatia (1997). He participated in international research projects on the values in transition countries (1998) and European value studies (1999). He was the leader of a research project at Croatian Studies: The Influence of the Media on the Family (2002–2006).
During 2003–2005, he led a team of experts and scholars who revised the course of study in journalism at the Center for Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, according to the Bologna Declaration. In 2005, he earned the rank of associate professor and in 2012 the rank of senior research associate.

Books and Articles
Dr. Juraj Mirko Mataušić was the author of numerous professional and scholarly articles about the media and communication, the history of the media, ethics in the media and particularly about the relationship between the Church and media, which were published in domestic and foreign scientific journals and proceedings. He wrote the preface to a new edition of a book by Josip Horvat, Povijest novinstva Hrvatske (History of Croatian Journalism) and wrote the following books: Die kroatische katholische Presse 1849–1900. Antemurale christianistatis (The Croatian Catholic Press 1849–1900. The Bulwark of Christianity), Salzburg, 1984 (dissertation); Katolička Crkva i novija idejna strujanja u hrvatskim zemljama 1848 – 1900. Hrvatski katolički pokret (The Catholic Church and New Ideological Currents in Croatian Lands 1848–1900 (textbook), Zagreb, 1994; Agencijsko novinarstvo i kršćanska poruka (Agency Journalism and the Christian Message) (ed.), Zbornik (Proceedings), Zagreb, 2004; Sredstva društvene komunikacije i pastoralno djelovanje Crkve (Mass Media and the Pastoral Activity of the Church) (textbook), Zagreb, 2006; Komunikacijske znanosti (Communication Sciences) (ed.), Proceedings, Zagreb, 2007; Mudrost pred Bogom (Wisdom In the Sight of God) (with Suzana Vrhovski), Zagreb, 1990, 2001; Mudrost za čovjeka (Wisdom for Man) (with Suzana Vrhovski), Zagreb, 1999; Mudrost odozgor (Wisdom from on High) (with Suzana Vrhovski), Zagreb, 2003; Kad duša progovori (When the Soul Speaks) (with Suzana Vrhovski), Zagreb, 1996, 2014; Ranjeno dijete i ja (The Wounded Child and I) (with Vesna Gračner), Zagreb, 2010; Kriza, super! (Crisis, Super!) (with Vesna Gračner), Zagreb, 2012; Brak za hrabre (Marriage for the Brave) (with Vesna Gračner), Zagreb, 2013; Obitelj prijelaznog naraštaja (The Family of the Transitional Generation) (with Vesna Gračner), Zagreb, 2014 (in press); Svaka se ulica zove Strasse (Every Street Is Called Strasse), Zagreb, 2014 (in press); Misli sedam dana (Thoughts for Seven Days) (with Suzana Peran), Zagreb, 2014 (in press).