The Croatian Bishops' Conference (; ) (HBK) is an

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, often also called a bishops’ conference or conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The fir ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The Conference was founded on May 15, 1993 after Croatia regained its independence after the

breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

in the early 1990s, which consequentially led to the abolition of the Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia. HBK is composed of all active and

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

; currently 32 (20 active, 11 retired, 1 military ordinary).

History

During the

, Croatia declared its independence on June 25, 1991. The Holy See recognized Croatia on January 13, 1992. Croatian bishops made a proposal for the establishment of the Croatian Bishops' Conference. On May 15, 1993, the Holy See issued a decree by which it established governing body for the Croatian dioceses-Croatian Bishops' Conference. Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal

Franjo Kuharić Franjo Kuharić (15 April 1919 – 11 March 2002) was a Croatian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1970 until his resignation in 1997. Made a cardinal in 1983, he was known as the "Rock of Croatia" because of his defe ...

, was elected as a first Conference President. The HBK Statute was renewed on February 5, 2000. Cardinal

Josip Bozanić Josip Bozanić (; born 20 March 1949) is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Zagreb from 1997 to 2023. He was previously Bishop of Krk from 1989 to 1997. He was made a cardinal in 2003. Bozanić is the Grand Prio ...

served as Conference president in two terms (1997-2007). At the HBK plenary session in October 2007 in the town of

Gospić Gospić () is a town in Lika, Croatia. It is the seat of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Gospić is located in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika. It is the administrative center of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located n ...

, Archbishop of Đakovo-Osijek

Marin Srakić Archbishop Marin Srakić (born 6 July 1937) is a Croatian Roman Catholic prelate who served as an auxiliary bishop of Diocese of Djakovo or Bosna and Srijem, Đakovo or Bosna and Srijem and the Titular Bishop of Kerkennah Islands, Cercina (1990� ...

was elected as the President. Vice-Presidents of the Conference were Cardinal Josip Bozanić and Archbishop of Split-Makarska

Marin Barišić Marin Barišić (born Vidonje, near Metković, 24 March 1947) is a Croatian archbishop. He served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Split-Makarska, from 2000 to 2022. Early life and education Marin Barišić was born in Vidonje near Metković on ...

. At the 45th session of the HBK that was held on November 14, 2012 Archbishop of Zadar

Želimir Puljić Želimir Puljić (7 March 1947) is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of Zadar from 2010 to 2023 and bishop of Dubrovnik from 1989 to 2010. He briefly served as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese ...

was elected as the fourth Conference President.http://www.hbk.hr/?type=vijest&ID=409 HBK and

Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina () is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina founded in 1994 by the Holy See. The president of the Conference is elected among the bishops for a term of five years. ...

takes care of the pastoral care of Croatian Catholics abroad. They also appoint together ''Episcopal Commission for the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome'' in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In addition, their common question are also liturgical books in Croatian. According to this, both Conferences have an annual common season. HBK is a member of

Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (; CCEE) is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Monaco, Maronite Catholic Archeparch of Cypr ...

and

Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union, formerly the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, (; COMECE) is the association of Catholic Church episcopal conferences in member states of the Europ ...

Organisation

Conference bodies are: *Episcopal Commission (for: 1. Liturgy, 2. Relations with the European Union, 3. Croatian Caritas, 4. Relations with the State, 3. a Dialogue with the Serbian Orthodox Church, 4. Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome) *Councils (for: 1. the Doctrine of Faith, 2. Catechizing, 3. Clergy, 4. Seminaries and Vocations, 5. Institutes of Consecrated Life, 6. Life and Family, 7. Laity, 8. Education, 9. Ecumenism and Dialogue, 10. Cultural and Church Cultural Assets, 11. Missions, 12. Pastoral Care of Migrants with committees for Pastoral Care of Tourists and Pastoral Care of Sailors, 13. Croatia Foreign Congregation with the National Office for the Croatian Foreign Congregation) *Commissions (1. Legal, 2. "Iustitia et Pax" ''(Justice and peace)'', 3. Joint Commission of the Croatian Bishops' Conference, 4. Croatian Conference of Major Superiors and Croatian Union of Major Superiors) *Committees (for: 1. Youth, 2. Social Communication, 3. Pastoral Care of Prisoners, 4. Pastoral Care of Roma) *General Secretariat *Offices of the General Secretariat (for: 1. Finances, 2. National Catechism, 3. Media, 4. Family, 5. Secular Societies, Movements and Communities, 6. Youth) *Institutes (1. Central Institution of the HBK for maintaining clergy and other officers, 2. Croatian Caritas, 3. Croatian Catholic Radio, 4. Catholic Press Agency, 5. Center for the Promotion of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 6. Croatian Institute for Liturgical Pastoral) The President and Vice President shall be elected for the time period of three years by bishops, with term renewable twice.

Members

Members of the Croatian Bishops' Conference are: *Active bishops: *Retired bishops:

Presidents

(1993–1997) *

(1997–2007) *

(2007–2012) *

(2012–2022) * Dražen Kutleša (since 2022)

References

External links

Croatian Bishops' Conference
website ( Croatian)
Croatian Bishops' Conference webpage
GCatholic.org website {{Authority control