The Croatian Bishops' Conference ( hr, Hrvatska biskupska konferencija; la, Conferentia Episcoporum Croatiae) (HBK) is an

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a 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 first assembly of bishops to ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

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

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

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 clergy member 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 of dioceses. The role or offic ...

; 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, was elected as a first Conference President. The HBK Statute was renewed on February 5, 2000. Cardinal Josip Bozanić 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 the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field ( Ličko Polje). Gospić is ...

, 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 Đakovo or Bosna and Srijem and the Titular Bishop of Cercina (1990–1996), and after that, as a Coadjutor Bishop (1996–1997 ...

was elected as the President. Vice-Presidents of the Conference were Cardinal Josip Bozanić and Archbishop of Split-Makarska Marin Barišić. 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 the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Zadar, Croatia. Puljić is president of the Episcopal Conference of Croatia since 2012. Ordained to the priesthood on 24 March 1974, for the Diocese of Most ...

was elected as the fourth Conference President.http://www.hbk.hr/?type=vijest&ID=409 HBK and Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. 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 ( la, Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae;,CCEE) is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop ...

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, ( la, Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae; COMECE) is the association of Catholic Church e ...

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

* Franjo Kuharić (1993–1997) * Josip Bozanić (1997–2007) *

(2007–2012) *

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

References

External links

Croatian Bishops' Conference
website (

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

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

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Catholic Church in Croatia Religious organizations based in Croatia Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1993 1993 establishments in Croatia