2. Why was Archbishop Stepinac not arrested immediately after the liberation of Yugoslavia?

Stepinac shakes hands with Ante Pavelic, leader of the Nazi puppet state of Croatia

When Archbishop Stepinac was arrested and brought to trial in September, 1946, one argument of the critics ran along these lines: Why did the Yugoslav Government not arrest Archbishop Stepinac immediately after liberation if his offences were so grave? If they really had the evidence, why did they wait so long?

The answer is that the Yugoslav Government, far from being motivated by vengeful feelings, made a serious effort to avoid the necessity of taking court action against Archbishop Stepinac. It endeavored earnestly and patiently to reach a modus vivendi making possible a settlement of the Stepinac case.

When the War Crimes investigation produced evidence of the Archbishop's complicity in the barbarous regime of Ante Pavelic in puppet Croatia, the Yugoslav Government informed the Vatican of the nature and volume of this evidence and asked that Stepinac be withdrawn. What happened was described by Marshal Tito in an address at Zagreb on October 31, 1946:

"When the Pope's representative to our Government, Bishop Hurley, [1] paid me his first visit I raised the question of Stepinac. 'Have him transferred from Yugoslavia,' I said, for otherwise we shall be obliged to place him under arrest.' I warned Bishop Hurley of the course we had to follow. I discussed the matter with him in detail. I acquainted him with Stepinac's many hostile acts toward our country. I gave him a file of documentary evidence of the Archbishop's crimes.

"We waited four months without receiving any reply. Then the authorities arrested Stepinac and he was brought to trial, in the same manner as any other individual who works against the people."

NEXT:    The Yugoslav Tragedy

THE CASE OF ARCHBISHOP STEPINAC

Croatian Holocaust

Papacy Uncovered