VATICAN II AND YUGOSLAVIA 87formal and remained at the level of the Yugoslav embassy council-
or in Rome (Nikola Mandić) and the secretary of the Congregation
for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs (Agostino Casaroli). The
Yugoslav side sought confirmation of its political legitimacy and
the end of Church sponsorship of oppositional and émigré groups.
The Vatican wanted freedom of contact with the Church hierarchy
in Yugoslavia, freedom of conscience for all citizens, and undis-
turbed religious instruction.
The negotiations were intensified by the end of the Council
and became official, but not immediately successful, in January
1965, after the arrival of the Vatican delegation headed by Casa-
roli to Belgrade. Although the Yugoslav government wanted ac-
commodation, its repeated tests of strength with the Church
exposed its weakness. Accusations that the Church was playing
with nationalism in August 1965—when 60,000 pilgrims came
to the Marian celebration in Sinj, central Dalmatia—underscored
the official disappointment that only 8,000 had turned up at a
festivity attended by Tito in the same town only a week earlier.33
Despite the government’s initial attempts to involve the Cro-
atian bishops, the bishops ultimately did not become a party to
the negotiations, instead taking advantage of the Yugoslav au-
thorities’ desire for direct contact with the Vatican. Both sides
were prepared for prolonged discussions, but were unwilling to
entertain undue concessions. The compromise that was reached
satisfied the starting positions of both sides. The Protocol on the
Discussions between the Representatives of the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and the Representatives of the Holy See,
as it was officially dubbed when it was signed in Rome on June 25,
- “Najveća manifestacija vjere u našoj zemlji poslije rata,” Glas Koncila, August
22, 1965. In his sermon during the pilgrimage, according to Glas Koncila, Cardinal
Šeper “greeted the people of Sinj, the Cetina frontier, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Herzegovi-
na, and the whole Croatian homeland.... The Cardinal stressed that we are a people
who call Mary our queen.... We are Mary’s people and must remain such in the
future”; ibid.