THE PROBLEM OF SEPARATING THE PARISH OF RIJEKA FROM THE SENJ-MODRUŠ BISHOPRIC (1891-1913)

Autor je u radu, utemeljenom napose na arhivskoj građi, istražio otpor hrvatskog episkopata, političara i hrvatske javnosti mađarskim pokušajima odcjepljenja riječke župe od Senjsko-modruške biskupije u razdoblju od 1891. do 1913. godine. Ustanovio je da se pokušaji crkvenog odvajanja Rijeke od Senjsko- modruške biskupije javljaju nakon krivotvorenja odrednica koje su se odnosile na Rijeku u Hrvatsko-ugarskoj nagodbi iz 1868. godine, koje je omogućilo Mađarima da faktično vladaju Rijekom sve do 1918. godine. U tom razdoblju mađarske vlasti sustavno su pokušavale osporiti hrvatsko prirodno i povijesno pravo na Rijeku, u cilju njezina potpunog državnopravnog povezivanja s Kraljevinom Ugarskom. Pokušaji odcjepljenja riječke župe, kojima je autor obratio pozornost, bili su jedna od najvažnijih sastavnica u tom procesu, koji je omeo učinkovit hrvatski otpor i prihvaćanje hrvatskih argumenata od strane Svete Stolice, a učinili ga bespredmetnim izbijanje I. svjetskog rata i susljedna propast Austro-Ugarske Monarhije.The author researched the attempts to separate the Parish of Rijeka from the Senj-Modruš Bishopric during the period 1891 to 1913. He used mainly archival sources, some of which appear in an appendix. The problem of separation emerged due to a misinterpretation of clause 66 of the Croatian-Hungarian Compromise (1868), which dealt with the Rijeka district and the formation of the provisional government of Rijeka (1870). The provisional government did not guarantee permanent Hungarian control of Rijeka, so the Hungarians tried to strengthen their power with arguments of state right. At the same time they attempted to systematicly separate the parish of Rijeka from the Senj-Modruš Bishopric with the aim of attaching it to one of the Hungarian bishoprics, or by establishing a seat in Rijeka under the control of the Hungarian Primate. The author analyzed Croatian resistance to Hungarian aspiration with regard to the Parish of Rijeka, and determined that until 1911 the main role in thwarting Hungarian pressure at the Holy See was played by the Croatian episcopate, which exposed the falsity of Hungarian claims. During the period 1911-1913, when the Hungarians attempted to extend their control to the entire Croatian littoral, the problem spread troughout all aspects of Croatian political life. The author concludes by suggesting that the Hungarian denial of Croatian sovereignity and territorial integrity on the very eve of the First World War, as well as the disregard to this issue shown by circles of the Dual monarchy, gave rise to a new political direction among Croats: For a solution to the national question the Croats abandoned the framework of the Habsburg Monarchy in favour of a Balkan orientation