84 IVO BANAC
tion.23 In fact, the effects of the Council tested the authorities’
capacity for investment in conciliar normalization. Destroyed
churches left unattended since the war were being reconstructed
and new churches built, notably in the repressed parts of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, the Dalmatian hinterland, Kosovo, and Vojvo-
dina, but also in the industrial zones of planned secularization.24
In addition, conciliar programs engaged the laity in Church
affairs,25 promoted the liturgical participation of the congregants
through the introduction of reformed rites,26 and emboldened
demands for greater concessions. An example was the episcopal
letter of May 21, 1965, in which the BKJ demanded the upholding
of constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship and human
rights.27 Cardinal Šeper, for his part, in his Christmas message
after the closing of the Council in December 1965, insisted that
the authorities must show more understanding for the believers
in the new suburbs of major cities, such as Novi Zagreb, south of
Croatia’s capital, “where there is not even the smallest chapel.”28
Moreover, Glas Koncila started publishing a satirical column,
- “Voda je zatalasana,” Glas Koncila, January 12, 1964.
- For some typical cases from the period before the reestablishment of dip-
lomatic relations with the Vatican, see D-J, “Ljubuški ima opet svoju crkvu,” Glas
Koncila, February 23, 1964; “Gradi se crkva u Žeravcu,” Glas Koncila, March 20, 1964;
-ak-, “Čitluk—selo u Hercegovini,” Glas Koncila, November 14, 1965; “Obnova crkvi
u Dalmatinskoj Zagori,” Glas Koncila, May 10, 1964; “Medulin oživljava,” Glas Kon-
cila, June 7, 1964; “Nova župna crkva u Prištini,” Glas Koncila, August 16, 1964; J. I.,
“Subotica dobila novo sjemenište,” Glas Koncila, July 11, 1965; -ak-, “U gradu bez cr-
kava i džamija,” Glas Koncila, June 13, 1965; V., “Pula dobila novu župu,” Glas Koncila,
June 13, 1965. - Franjo Šeper, “Položaj i zadaci laika u Crkvi,” Glas Koncila, March 20, 1964.
- “Počinje se provoditi liturgijska obnova,” Glas Koncila, November 22, 1964;
“Obnosa mise—zašto i kako,” Glas Koncila, February 28, 1965. - “Zajednička poslanica biskupa Jugoslavije,” Glas Koncila, September 5, 1965.
In it, the bishops stressed that the “law guarantees freedom of conscience and free-
dom of religion, but certain elements through impermissible procedures misuse
their position and in various ways exert pressure on the conscience, thereby creat-
ing a psychosis of fear, which is contrary to law”; ibid. - “Božićna poruka i čestitka kardinala Šepera,” Glas Koncila, December 25, 1965.