Contracts of the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia with the Holy See: A Comparative Analysis of Political Actors

Katolička crkva značajan je faktor za analizu događaja i odnosa na području bivše Jugoslavije u 20. stoljeću i danas. Duboka ukorijenjenost u identitet i vjerovanje značajnog dijela građana različitih državnih tvorevina na ovim prostorima značila je neizostavne kontakte državnih i crkvenih vlasti. Iako Republika Srbija i Republika Hrvatska imaju isto pravno naslijeđe na drugačije su načine i u drugačijem intenzitetu regulirale odnose sa Svetom Stolicom. Između Republike Hrvatske i Svete Stolice sklopljena su 4 ugovora koja pokrivaju širok spektar aktivnosti Katoličke crkve u Hrvatskoj. I danas, gotovo dvadeset godina od usvajanja ugovora, Katolička crkva uživa prava iz ugovora, iako se polako javljaju inicijative za reviziju ugovora, osobito Ugovora o gospodarskim pitanjima. Republika Srbija sa Svetom Stolicom ima jedan ugovor, u području odgoja i obrazovanja premda je interes za suradnju s obje strane puno veći. Iako službeni Beograd relativno često pokreće teme od zajedničkog interesa, poput posjeta pape i sl., većina inicijativa ostaje na razini dobre volje zbog izuzetno velikog veto potencijala Srpske pravoslavne crkve.The Catholic Church is an important factor for the analysis of events and relationships in former Yugoslavia, both in the 20th century as well as today. The fact that the Catholic Church is deeply rooted in the identity of the citizens together with the faith they nourished meant that the state and the church authorities would inevitably come into contact with each other. Even though the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia have the same legal heritage, they have regulated the relations with the Holy See in different ways and with a different intensity. Four agreements which cover a wide range of activities of the Catholic Church in Croatia were signed between the Republic of Croatia and the Holy See. Even today, almost twenty years since the adoption of those agreements, the Catholic Church enjoys the rights agreed upon in them, even though initiatives for agreement revision slowly emerge; particularly of the Agreement on economic issues. The Republic of Serbia and the Holy See have one agreement, in the area of education, even though both sides show greater signs of being interested in cooperation. Even though the official Belgrade picks up the topic of common interests relatively often, e.g. Pope’s visit, most of the initiatives stop at the level of good faith due to the extremely high veto-potential of the Serbian Orthodox Church