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IV.
Statements about and by Stepinac  Examining the documented statements by Stepinac and
other notable people and sources, it strikes one that through them, like some mysterious
stairs, one gets deeper into the authentic world of the attitudes and the work of this so
simple and yet so remarkable man than perhaps through his numerous biographies. Each
selection of quotations necessarily implies a subjective approach by the author. The
following one completes a mosaic of statements and views of Stepinac and the circumstances
in which he lived and worked. As such, it will certainly make an additional contribution
to his authentic image.
Louis Breiner, President of the American Jewish Society: "This high church representative has been convicted as a collaborator of Nazism. We Jews are protesting against such calumnies. Since we know his past, we can say that from 1934 onwards he was always a true friend to the Jews. He did not conceal his feelings even at the time of the brutal persecutions under the Hitler regime. He was one of the few people in Europe who spoke out against the Nazi tyranny, at all hours, when it was most dangerous" (a statement released two days after the conviction of Stepinac: Bauer, 1979, p. 152). Cardinal Stepinac, 1940: "Come what may in these dismal times, we will never bow to the evil which is rampant, to the false spirit of the time opposed to God. In the shadow of a looming storm threatening the whole world, I too am addressing the following words to you: Take courage and be strong in the faith which your fathers have professed for no fewer than 1300 years" (ibid. p. 200). Cardinal Stepinac, 1941: "Every day we are witnessing new, ever stricter provisions which, more often than not, affect totally innocent people. That people of different nationality are denied every possibility of self-preservation and forced to display that disgraceful sign is an infringement upon humanity and morality. Moral laws apply not only to individuals, but to those in power as well. Besides, one should take into account that children, hit by these measures, will develop a sense of revenge and an inferiority complex, which will have a crucial impact on their psychological development. Do we have a right to make such an assassination attempt on human personality?" (from a protest letter to the Interior Minister, Andrija Artukovic, dated 23 May 1941, Cavalli 1947, p. 163). Cardinal Stepinac, 1942: "Each nation and each race has the right to life and treatment worthy of man This is why the Catholic Church has always condemned, and is today condemning the injustice and acts of violence committed in the name of theories of class, race and nation The Church would have failed in her duty if she were not, true to its conviction as always, raising its voice today as well in defence of all those who are complaining of injustice" (from his homily in the Zagreb cathedral, 25 October 1942, Benigar 1974, p. 442). Cardinal Stepinac, 1943: "Each Man, irrespective of his race, nationality or other differences, bears the imprint, the mark of God the Creator, and has his own rights which must in no case be interfered with or limited by force" (Benigar 1974, p. 440). Milovan Djilas: "To honestly tell the truth, I think, and not only I, that Stepinac is a man of integrity, a firm character, whom is impossible to break. He was really unjustly convicted, but how many times has it happened in the history that just people were convicted out of political necessity?!" (Hrvatska revija, 1956, p. 202) Archbishop Stepinac, 1946: "Some documents have been falsified; photographs showing me with my hand raised in a Fascist salute and participating at the farewell ceremony of the Croatian legion before its departure for the Black Sea; I was not present at that ceremony, nor did I raise my hands in Fascist salute." (the contents of the only note he made during the trial in 1946, Beluhan, 1967, p. 127). Cardinal Stepinac, 1946: "The Croatian nation unanimously declared itself for the Croatian State and I would have been remiss had I not recognised and acknowledged this desire of the Croatian people enslaved by the former Yugoslavia" (from his reply at the trial, Benigar 1974, p. 584.). Cardinal Stepinac, two months before his death: "St. Cyprian gave his executioner 25 gold coins before the latter beheaded him. I have no gold. All I can offer is prayer for the one who will put me to death, so that God might forgive him and give him eternal life, and a peaceful death to me... With Divine Grace I will fulfil my duty to the end, with no hatred and no fear of anyone..." (Bauer, 1979, p. 152). Die Presse, 11 February 1960: "...Imprisoned in the rustic seclusion of his Croatian native village, yet among his own people, seriously ill yet steadfast in the confession of his faith, cut off from the world since the end of the war, yet world-famous as a martyr for the freedom of the Church in the communist East, Cardinal Stepinac has today passed away..." Francis Spellman, Cardinal of New York: "The news about Cardinal Stepinac's death has been received here with distress. The American people recognises in him the spirit that has made our country great: the spirit which takes no account of the price, which can never be too high, when freedom is at stake. We are proud that the Archdiocese of New York has erected a living memorial to Stepinac, Alojzije Stepinac High School, where young people are trained and taught how to respect and enhance the principles, for which this brave man lived and died..." (Hrvatski glas, 7 March 1960). Jean Rupp, Bishop of Paris: "...We are proud of the great personality of Cardinal Stepinac. He is a martyr of modern times, a Christian martyr, a martyr of his duty. He could have left his homeland and lived abroad in freedom, but he refused that offer of the regime because he wanted to stay, live and die in the heart of his Croatia. Be it before, during or after the war, he always struggled for truth..." The Register, 11 February 1960: "...He is the Church's first prince who died in seclusion and prison into which he had been thrown by the communists. In the entire free world, the 62-year-old prelate had for long been respected as one of the bravest martyrs of the Church of modern times..." La Croix, 12 February 1950: "...Cardinal Stepinac belongs to the heroes of the Church. He chose to stay with his people, to support it with his presence and to fortify it with his silent suffering..." The Globe and Mall, 12 February 1960: "...Now, with his death, Cardinal Stepinac joins the Church of Heroes _ possibly her martyrs _ who irrevocably and unwaveringly maintained their faith." Le Monde, 12 February 1960 "...Cardinal Stepinac is leaving this world, without ever resuming his duties, and without ever donning the symbols of his distinction. Confined to his little house, cut off from the world, physically worn out, he was growing in the eyes of the faithful into a martyr..." Chicago's American, 11 February 1960: "...The death of Alojzije Stepinac has removed a great living symbol of the resistance to communism, but the moral provided by his life has remained: as long as there are people of any religion who do not intend to make compromises with a pernicious dictatorship, such a dictatorship is not safe..." The Guardian, 11 February 1960: "...It is certain that the reasons for the court proceedings against Stepinac were political, and not moral ones, the more so because Stepinac was given a chance to leave the country instead of standing trial..." Catholic Harold, USA, 19 February 1960: "... The Cardinal was a saintly, spiritual-minded man, who liked to mix with workers... He died a martyr's death, possibly the harshest one ever, because he had been dying slowly under Tito's rule, for the past 15 years..." Dr Isidor M. Emanuel, Bishop of Speyer: "...Cardinal Stepinac has moved into eternity, and with him one of the best people of our century. When I received the news about his death, just one thought occurred to me: a saint has died" (Bauer, 1979, p. 174). New York Times, 20 September 1979: "...Every day, from the crack of dawn till late after dusk, countless believers go at a slow pace in St. Stephen's Cathedral, past the main altar to the little tomb filled with flowers. Here are young people, the old and the ill, nuns, priests and peasants. They stop still, kneel down, some for just a few seconds, others for a whole hour and more, and ardently pray in front of the image of Alojzije Stepinac, former Archbishop of Zagreb..." Cardinal Franjo Kuharic: "... He lived at an extremely complex, difficult and tragically historical time... The appalling night of war descended upon the world. The Croatian people and its Church were not exempted from the bloody drama of Europe and the world. At this compressed time of darkness and pain, moan and death, Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac followed in his conscience the triple light: faith, hope and love... He always desired the welfare of his and every other people; he strove to help every man regardless of his convictions; he struggled for the honour of God and for the dignity of every human being. Yes, he was a true disciple of Jesus Christ, Lord and Saviour..." (AKSA, 8 February 1980) Pope Pius XII: "The Croatian cardinal is the greatest prelate of the
Catholic Church." (J. Sedlar, Stepinac, video-film, London-Zagreb, 1998). "One should keep in mind that Stepinac was, and still is today, the epitome of justice, freedom and truth..." Maurice Feltin, Cardinal of Paris "As early as 1937 he was at the head of a relief organisation for the Jews who, persecuted by the National Socialists, sought refuge in Yugoslavia He never stopped protesting most strongly against all forms of terrorism, whoever might be the perpetrators. This was his response to the cry for justice in the war-torn world, a response in perfect harmony with human aspirations" (Nikolic, 1980, p. 193). Cardinal Stepinac, 1938: "On Sunday, December 11 of this year, on the day of parliamentary elections, the Radio Station of the Central Press Bureau of the Ministerial Council's Presidency reported, in a programme broadcast also by other radio stations in the country, that I had voted for the list of the Yugoslav Radical Union. To my demand that they broadcast my rebuttals, they responded with the same statement Since they have not done this until today, I am compelled to state publicly that the above news of the Belgrade Radio Station is completely false. My conscience told me to vote for the list which represented the aspirations of the Croatian people for justice and freedom, to which it has the right as all other peoples. And I did so" (Benigar 1974, pp. 210-211). Cardinal Stepinac, 1939: "The basic law of a just and honourable peace is a guarantee of the right to life and independence of all nations, large and small, strong and weak. The will to life of one nation must not be a death sentence for the other" (paraphrasing Pope Pius XII, Hrvatska revija, June 1985, p. 200). Cardinal Stepinac, 1942: "There is no doubt that one of the most beautiful features of the Croatian people in the past was its striving to harmonise its life with the principles of the truth revealed by God. Not only when it could make a profit of it, but also in the times when it was a bitter pill to swallow The entire Croatian people today expects the same of this Croatian Parliament. Let it pass just laws which are not in conflict with God's laws and thus insure the blessings of God the Creator Let it pass equitable laws; let everybody enjoy equal rights for equal obligations. Let it pass workable laws, lest the people be weighed down by burdens it cannot endure." (on the occasion of the opening of the Croatian Parliament on 23 February 1942, Glasnik Srca Isusova i Marijina, Salzburg, April 1962, p. 91). Cardinal Stepinac, 1942: "It is not surprising at all that many people wonder what differences there are between Bolshevik camps and our own. Can the Ustasha movement count on God's blessing if it denies to the dying that which not a single state has denied so far?" (from a protest letter to the Interior Minister, Dr Andrija Artukovic, dated 22 September 1942, Cavalli 1947, p. 170) Cardinal Stepinac, 1943: " I also ask you in the name of humanity, which our people have always respected, not to allow any longer that any member of this state unjustly suffers. In concentration camps there are many innocent people who did not deserve such a severe punishment Sins against the natural law in the name of people and state take their revenge on the state and people themselves. "In Italy there are tens of thousands of our innocent people from Gorski Kotar, Primorje and Dalmatia, penned in concentration camps, mostly women and children. Hunger, disease and hardship of all kinds are the cause of so many deaths among these unfortunate people. President, do not allow irresponsible elements and those with no mandate to do any more harm to the true good of our people" (from a protest letter to the president, Dr A. Pavelic, 6 March 1943, Cavalli 1947, p. 126). The New York Times, (C L Sulzberger), 15 February 1960: "On November 10, 1950, I visited him in his cell in the Lepoglava prison, where Tito too had been incarcerated when Yugoslavia was a kingdom. Stepinac, a pale, patient and dauntless man, was reading a work by an Irish Franciscan while I was entering the cell, accompanied by six members of the secret police in the cavalry boots. Paying no heed to my escort, he told me quietly in French: `I am ready at any moment to die for the Church. I am totally indifferent to the prospect of my freedom If Marshal Tito wants to set me free, he has to talk to the Holy See. The Catholic Church cannot be a slave of anybody, nor of any state.'" Samuel Stritich, Cardinal of Chicago: "Good Friday was followed by Easter. By the same token, the time of tyranny and persecution will pass, in accordance with Divine Providence. Croatia too will live to see its Easter! When that time comes we will better understand the greatness of Cardinal Stepinac, of the priests, bishops and peoples who remained true to Christ, just as we better understand the greatness and miracle of Christ on the cross on Good Friday, when we view it in the light of Easter" (Nikolic, 1980, p. 200). Ivan Metrovic, sculptor: "His death will make his torturers shudder, when they see that he is a more dangerous opponent to them from the grave than during his imprisonment. They will not be plagued by Stepinac who prayed for them, but by their guilty conscience due to the wrongs they did to him and the consequences which accompany sins." (Nikolic, 1980, p. 49.). Alfredo Cifuentes, a Chilean archbishop: "His executioners wanted to annihilate him, but they crowned him with the martyr's halo instead. They meant to obliterate his name, and they made him immortal Stepinac died for his persecutors. For us and the whole Catholic world, his immortal life of glory and victory has started - because a martyr has ascended into heaven." (El Diario Illustrado, Santiago de Chile, 16 February 1960). Alan Horic, writer: "Centuries of self-denial and hardship have to pass before a nation can produce such an unblemished figure, a shining example to the entire world. Stepinac was the victim of his Croatian and Catholic convictions And we Muslims saw in him an example of religious consistency" (Hrvatski glas, Winnipeg, 29 February 1960). Cardinal Franjo Kuharic: "Through personal suffering he experienced the drama and tragic of each man, independently of his racial, national or religious affiliation. He gave witness to this universal love, drawn from his faith in Jesus Christ and the Gospel, in his concrete acts of charity and in his intervention to alleviate the suffering. He interceded bravely and determinedly on behalf of those persecuted, jailed and tortured, without regard to whence the evil came. He demanded of every government that courts be just, laws humane, and its actions humane"(Nikolic, 1980, p. 154). Fulton Sheen, an American bishop: "Msgr. Stepinac appeared in court as the spiritual leader of the Croatian people and came out of the courtroom as the leader of his people and an example to the world." (J. Sedlar, Stepinac, video-film, London-Zagreb 1988). Newsweek, 22 February 1960: "...Was it important that the government allowed the burial of Stepinac in his cathedral in Zagreb? The Yugoslav Catholics, who bear in mind the recent proceedings against priests on account of their "anti-state activity", have received that news not as a sign of hope, but as a sign of diplomatic cunning..."
Simun Sito Coric II. A Brief Biography III. Archbishop Stepinac's Reply at the Trial IV.Statements about and by Stepinac V.A Selection of Books about Stepinac About the author Prices : 5DEM; 5USD
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