Zagreb, (IKA) – A trilogy entitled “The Blessed Alojzije Stepinac – Witness to the Gospel of Love,” was presented on February 8 in the Vijenac Auditorium of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Institute in Zagreb. The trilogy, which sheds light upon the role of the archbishop of Zagreb, Alojzije Stepinac, before, during and after the Second World War, on the 50 anniversary of his death, was prepared by Msgr. Juraj Batelja and published by the Postulature of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac on the 50th anniversary of the death of the beatus.
Dr. Josip Jurčević said that the trilogy, which includes a total of 1,872 pages, is a capital work of Croatian historiography. In the first volume is presented a biography of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, based upon historical sources and scientific methodology, centered around the period from 1934 to 1946. The second and third volumes contain an expertly prepared collection of 691 documents and testimonies, chosen on the basis of relevance from among 45,000 pages found in 135 different archives, institutions and publications. Dr. Jurčević pointed out that literally all the historical sources indisputably testify that under such extremely unfavorable circumstances Archbishop Stepinac, without any delay or fear, placed his entire being and influential position in support of vulnerable, disenfranchised and persecuted individuals, communities, nations and institutions. Fully aware of the risks, Archbishop Stepinac consistently chose – through thought, word and deed – to represent the religious and general civilizational value principles, especially love, the common good, justice and the full equality of all people and their communities.
Presenting the trilogy, the Rev. Josip Čorić, Ph.D., professor of pastoral theology at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Split, recalled that after the trial of Archbishop Stepinac the authorities, by obstructing the operations of the Catholic Church, actually unwittingly contributed to the realization of God’s plan for the unity of the Croatian nation. Dr. Čorić spoke about the main directoins of Stepinac’s activities: already in 1935 and 1936 he was organizing pastoral courses, introducing deanery meetings, popular missions, closed spiritual exercises for the faithful, working on resolving the shortage of clergy, organizing a pension foundation for old and sick priests, and establishing new parishes in Zagreb. Dr. Čorić noted that the Blessed Alojzije used to emphasize that goals are not known by talk but by action, and thus it is necessary to inculturate the gospel of love. This came to the fore in the many social weeks that emphasized the need for the renewal of the family, commitment to sick and neglected children, helping the persecuted and defending the nation before foreign occupiers, said Dr. Čorić.
The postulator of the cause of Alojzije Stepinac and editor of the trilogy, Msgr. Juraj Batelja, Ph.D., showed those assembled the first volume of the Braille edition of the biography of Cardinal Stepinac, which is now available in the library of the Croatian Association of the Blind. Regarding the trilogy, he pointed out that the published material is a determinant that should provide Croatian historiography with much clearer concepts and eliminate many misconceptions, i.e., elucidate the political circumstances and the archbishop’s clear positions regarding political formations, individual political parties and parties as such, as well as his equally clear attitude toward all those who did not understood the message of Christian beneficence.
“The documents we are publishing for the first time confront our public with the fact that Archbishop Stepinac did not cozy up to the Ustasha regime but instead had had a clearly defined position regarding the work of a political party and the role of a spiritual shepherd as a corrective of public life in the spirit of the Gospel,” cautioned Dr. Batelja, and showed a series of documents that were excluded from the court proceedings, from which Archbishop Stepinac’s protests against the persecution of Jews, Serbs and others, and the care he provided for many refugees, are evident. “I am sorry that the books that have been published so far about the trial of Archbishop Stepinac differ in all respects from the sources that were preserved in the court records. I hope that the documents, a large part of which we are presenting to the Croatian public for the first time, will alter certain attitudes and judgments. These are documents that not only celebrate Catholic beneficence but can also be a source of pride to the Catholic Church,” concluded Dr. Batelja.

At the end of the presentation, Archbishop Josip Bozanić of Zagreb thanked Msgr. Batelja for his work on the 50th anniversary of the death of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac. Cardinal Bozanić emphasized that it is of particular value that the trilogy contains documents in a single place that present the truth “and we do not fear the truth.” “The truth is needed to shed light because there is still much darkness in our present,” said the cardinal, and pointed out that the Blessed Alojzije lived during difficult times but already had the future within him. “He lived from the faith and hope that the time would come when it would be possible to speak objectively, when it would be possible to present the documents and calmly make historical judgments about certain matters,” concluded Cardinal Bozanić. The presentation was attended by many admirers of Cardinal Stepinac, including the apostolic nuncio in Croatia, Archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari; Military Bishop Juraj Jezerinac, Bishop Josip Mrzljak of Varaždin, Vladika Nikola Kekić of Križevci and Auxiliary Bishop Valentin Pozaić of Zagreb.