Relationship of the Hol y See with Yugoslavia at the Time of the Establishment of the Archdiocese of Rijeka and Senj

Bulom "Coetu instante" 27. srpnja 1969. papa Pavao VI. hrvatski je dio Riječke biskupije, osnovane u vrijeme dok je Rijeka pripadala Italiji, ujedinio s negdašnjom Modruškom biskupijom, koja je pravno prestala postojati, i jednakopravno ujedinio sa Senjskom biskupijom. Nova Riječko-senjska crkvena pokrajina uzdignuta je na dostojanstvo nadbiskupije i metropolije u čiji su sastav ušle Porečko-pulska i Krčka biskupija kao sufraganske pokrajine. Središte nove nadbiskupije i metropolije postala je Rijeka, a senjsko-modruški biskup Viktor Burić proglašen je nadbiskupom i metropolitom. Bilo je to tri godine nakon što je potpisan Protokol između Svete Stolice i Jugoslavije pa je opravdano pitanje je li država imala riječ kod uspostave Riječko-senjske nadbiskupije što i nije bilo pitanje isključivo "crkvenog karaktera" jer je u stvarnosti nova nadbiskupija pokopala Riječku biskupiju koja je nastala u vrijeme talijanske uprave nad dijelom Hrvatske i osnovala crkvenu pokrajinu metropolitanskog značaja na krajnjem zapadu Hrvatske koja je obuhvatila i dvije biskupije od kojih je Porečko-pulska bila sva pod Italijom, a Krčka biskupija velikim dijelom. Sadašnje poznavanje zbivanja prije 40 godina opravdava mišljenje kako je Sveta Stolica uspostavila Riječko-senjsku nadbiskupiju i metropoliju bez usuglašavanja te svoje odluke s politikom socijalističke Jugoslavije.On the 27th July, 1969, by the bulla “Coetu Instante” signed by pope Paul VI, the Croatian part of the diocese of Rijeka, established during the Italian rule, was united with the former diocese of Modruš. The diocese of Modruš was suppressed, de jure, and was united as equal in rights with the diocese of Senj. The new ecclesiastical province of Rijeka and Senj was elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese, which embedded as suffragan regions the diocese of Poreč and Pula, and the diocese of Krk. The centre of the new metropolitan archdiocese was Rijeka, and Viktor Burić, the bishop of Senj and Modruš was proclaimed archbishop and metropolite. This happened three years after the Protocol between the Holy See and Yugoslavia was signed: therefore it is reasonable to ask whether the state might have had its influence on the establishment of the Archdiocese of Rijeka and Senj, which was not only an ecclesiastical issue. In fact, the new archdiocese signified the suppression of the Diocese of Rijeka, formed at the time of the Italian rule over a part of Croatia, and the beginning of an ecclesiastical region of a metropolitan character in the west part of Croatia, comprising two dioceses formerly entirely (diocese of Poreč and Pula) or partly (diocese of Krk) under the Italian rule. Present insights of the past events justify the opinion that the Holy See established the metropolitan archdiocese of Rijeka and Senj without any particular coordination with the policy of the socialist Yugoslavia