Croatian Dominicans

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Croatian Dominicans

• Totalitarian Ideologies
• of the 20th Century

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20th Century Croatia

• 1918 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats Slovenians
• Serb real control
• 10.4.1941 Fascist state
• German occupation Croatian state under Fascist
  dictator Ante Pavelic
• Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Stepinac,
  condemned dictatorship ties to Zagreb OP
• 1945-1990 Communist State
• Incoroprated into Titos Yugoslavia
• 1991 Independent Croatia first free elections

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Renewal of Aquinas

• 1930s renewed interest among Croatian Dominicans
• Convinced Thomism would help them respond to the
  ideologies of their times
• Journal Akvinac (Aquinate) annually in Dubrovnik
  till 1940
• Responding to Fascism, Bolshevism, Communism
  Marxism

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Hijacint Bokovic Fascism

• 1900-1947
• Entered aged 18, ordained at 24
• Doctorate at Angelicum on St Thomas 4th way of
  knowing the existence of God
• 1928 Founded Istina (Truth) publishing house in
  Zagreb
• Review Duhovni ivot (Spiritual Life)
• 1934 Poznan co-founder of Slav Thomist society

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Idealism Patriotism

• Articles on common good in Duhovni ivot
• reflect influence of CST encyclicals e.g.Divini
  Redemptoris on atheistic Communism
• Response should be Christian charity justice
• Public denouncement 1938 lecture on fascism
• on the situation Germany Italy
• need to respond to the threat of a total state,
• yet liberty without excessive individualism
• Limits of patriotism
• Love of country a virtue, easily distorted to
  hate other countries
• State is not the final end, persons and families
  have rights
• Attacking notion of a pure race, which rejects
  not only God but the human soul
• Importance of individuals in community, as part
  of humanity

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• Man as a person is a free being, whom temporal
  things can never satisfy. He is determined by the
  absolute, and finds no peace or happiness outside
  of God. The State, or any other human
  institution, is a merely temporal means by which
  man attains happiness.

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Dominik Barac Bolshevism

• 1912-1945, ordained aged 24
• Studied in Dubrovnik Walberberg
• Thomist doctorate at Angelicum on social
  philosophy of Bolshevism, Socialna filozofia
  boljevizma (pub. 1944)
• Bolshevism presented in historical context, as a
  spiritual problem
• Contrasted with Thomistic search for a socially
  just system, in which persons can flourish as
  spiritual beings, individuals, in family in
  community
• Echoing Divini Redemptoris states must counter
  this ideology, with the church
• This book cost him his life
• 2 months after publication, Communists entered
  Dubrovnik, imprisoned and executed him

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Jordan Kunicic Communism

• 1908-1974
• entered aged 16, ordained at 23
• Teacher at Studium school in Dubrovnik
• Chair of Moral Theology CST at Zagreb
• Participated in Vatican II, writing on Church in
  the Modern World
• Chief of review Bogoslovska smotra 1960s
• 22 books, one of few Croatian theologians
  internationally known

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Subsidiarity

• Problem komunizma (1942)
• The practice of truth and justice before all
  people are the best means to fight against
  communism.
• Thomist teaching on the state Subsidiarity
• to affirm dignity of the human person
• Independence of State Church
• Rights of minorities Yugoslav context of nations
• Right to elections
• Right to defence against tyranny

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Work War

• Work has personal social value, but person more
  important
• Exploitation separation from capital, low wages
• Strikes may be necessary as last resort to
  improve conditions
• State should respect private property, but can
  intervene for common good
• No Christian can remain passive in the face of
  war
• International solidarity demands countries should
  get involved to defend victims, liberate a people
• Genocide, terrorism, war for revenge or economic
  advantage not justified

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Tomo Vere Marxism

• 1930-2002
• Initiated dialogue between Christians Marxists
  in Croatia former Yugoslavia
• Doctorate Thought Praxis in Karl Marx An essay
  in Philosophico-Theological Dialogue with the
  Works of Marx (1970)
• Taught philosophy in Zagreb
• 1958 General Chapter Caraluega Every Studium to
  teach sociology critique Marxism
• Vere did for Dubrovnik Studium
• 1960 photocopied scriptum on Marx philosophy
  distributed clandestinely

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Dialogue to Truth

• Dialogue essential only way to live together
• practical easier concern for human problems e.g.
  war, famine
• Doctrinal matters should not be avoided confront
  opposing attitudes to make future justice peace
  possible
• We Believe in One God
• 1978 pastoral letter
• Thomistic model of human creativity based on
  divine creativity
• Faith manifested in good works (orthopraxis)
  doing what is true
• Showed Church concerned with workers
• translated Leo XIIIs Rerum Novarum into Croat

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CST in the 1990s

• Drava (The State, 1990)
• translation of Thomistic texts on law, authority,
  rights etc. when the Croat state was being formed
• Is War inevitable?
• article when war broke out
• need for a new world community (not UN)
• social power to reach peace
• On the free elections
• Church should support parties which favour
  socially marginalised war vicitims
• Judge candidates by what they have done for the
  common good

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Facing Totalitarianism

• A reasonable person cannot accept only to be a
  means, a cog in a mechanical whole, devoid of any
  interior value
• (Jordan Kunicic OP, 1938)

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