COURAGE

connecting collections

The collection illustrates Alojzij Šuštar's theological and pastoral work as a priest and archbishop who led the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Ljubljana despite the restrictions on freedom imposed by institutions under the communist government’s control. The Collection includes books, original manuscripts, Šuštar’s published articles and his correspondence and polemics, which demonstrate his critical stance toward Slovenia’s communist regime in the late years of the regime and in the period of transition to democracy.

Archbishop Frane Franić Collection testifies to the public work of the Split-Makarska Archbishop Frane Franić during the socialist period in Croatia and Yugoslavia. Franić became a prominent cultural critic in the so-called Clerical Associations Case, when he opposed their establishment because they were initiated by the Party-controlled state. The collection is deposited in the Archdiocesan Archives in Split.

The Weeks of Christian Culture and the Artists’ Priesthood were the very important cultural initiatives of the Polish Catholic Church, organised since the 1970s. They were the first nation-wide platform for artists of various professions, who were given a chance to speak freely and to show their works to the society – regardless of their beliefs. The participants had the opportunity to interact with independent culture, prohibited or absent from the official circulation. The collection includes both the documents on the initiatives’ history and the works of art created by its participants.