Vekoslav Grmič

Portrait of Vekoslav Grmič, March 1983

Vekoslav Grmič (born June 4, 1923 in Sveti Jurij ; † March 21, 2005 in Maribor ) was a Yugoslav or Slovenian Catholic bishop, professor of systematic theology and liberation theologian .

Live and act

Origin and education

Vekoslav Grmič was born in Sveti Jurij (German: St. Georgen an der Stainz) in the Lower Styria region in northeastern Slovenia in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and grew up there. After graduating from high school, he went to the seminary in Maribor. As a student he became aware of the social thinking of the Catholic priest and Christian-social , later Christian-socialist politician Janez Evangelist Krek (1865-1917), the poet and Christian socialist Edvard Kocbek (1904-1981) from his home community and the German theologian and Influenced the philosopher Romano Guardini (1885–1968).

Second World War

After the attack on Yugoslavia and the occupation of Northern Slovenia (“ Lower Styria ”) by Nazi Germany in April 1941, Grmič worked with the “ Osvobodilna Fronta ” (Slovenian Liberation Front), which coordinated the political resistance against the German occupation and also set up a partisan army , together with partisans from other parts of Yugoslavia (from 1942 also with Allied support) waged a war against the occupiers and their supporters The experience of the common anti-fascist struggle of communists , socialists and Christians had a profound effect on the theological thinking of Grmič.

Pastor and auxiliary bishop

Vekoslav Grmič was ordained a priest on June 29, 1950 and was then chaplain for two years and pastor for 15 years in Vransko in the Spodnja Štajerska region in the west of the Diocese of Maribor . He was a member of the "regime-friendly" priestly association " Cyril and Methodius ". In 1961 Grmič received his doctorate in theology from the University of Ljubljana . At the local theological faculty he taught from 1962 until his retirement in 1991 as a professor of dogmatics (in addition to his work as a pastor and / or later as a bishop).

On February 27, 1968 Grmič was by Pope Paul VI. appointed auxiliary bishop in Maribor. On April 21, 1968 he was consecrated bishop by the Apostolic Delegate of Yugoslavia Mario Cagna ( titular bishop of Uchi Maius ). Diocesan Bishop Maksimilijan Držečnik also appointed Grmič as his vicar general . At the same time he took over the leadership of the seminary of Maribor as rector.

Wrestling for the office of bishop

After the death of Držecnik on May 13, 1978 Grmič was elected by the cathedral chapter as chapter vicar and entrusted by the Vatican with the management of the diocese until the appointment of a new bishop, which, however, only after the death of Paul VI. by the new Pope John Paul II . On November 6, 1980, the Polish Pope did not appoint Grmič, but the conservative Franc Kramberger as bishop (from 2006 archbishop ) of Maribor. Grmič commented on this decision in an interview:

“ I had very good contact with the faithful in the diocese. It was therefore a great shock for the people when the Vatican passed me over in November 1980 when the new diocesan bishop was appointed. I knew that I had been blackened by some conservative circles - including Slovenian bishops - in the Vatican for my progressive theological and political opinions, but officially I did not hear about it. I was never questioned about the allegations against me and several letters to the Pope went unanswered. "

Critics called him a “red bishop” , which Grmič himself did not take as an insult. About his only one-on-one conversation with the Pope, Grmič said: “ That was in February 1979. And in this conversation it became clear that he has a completely different view of the relationship between Christianity and socialism and socialism itself. "

With the appointment of the new diocesan bishop, Grmič also lost his other ecclesiastical functions, but remained titular bishop and professor at the theological faculty.

Later work

Grmič continued to visit parishes in Slovenia regularly, edited an ecumenical theological dialogue magazine together with other professors and was involved in the Socialist League of Working People of Yugoslavia (successor organization to the “Liberation Front”). He also increased his international activities. He went on lecture tours in several European (mainly German-speaking) countries and wrote articles for " Neue Ways " (Switzerland), " Critical Christianity " (Austria), " Neue Voice " (Germany) and for the international theological journal " Concilium ".

The theological and ecclesiastical importance of Vekoslav Grmič lay primarily in three areas: that of church reform, in the area of ​​church and society (especially in relation to the relationship to Marxism / socialism) and in the area of ​​pastoral office. With regard to church reform , Grmič always spoke of the goal of an “institutionally poor” church. The institution should not be an end in itself or a means of rule, but merely a “means to an end”, namely to preach the Gospel and to realize justice and peace . In this sense, " clericalism " must be overcome and the "service offices" reconsidered and reorganized. With regard to “church and society” he started with the “preferred option for the poor ” and developed what he himself called “ socialist theology ” (as “ contextual theology” in a socialist society) in analogy to Latin American liberation theology . He was also theologically and politically committed to peace and disarmament as well as solidarity with the Third World . Bishop Grmič liked to refer to Latin American liberation theology in his works, but also to theologians such as Karl Rahner , Hans Küng , Edward Schillebeeckx , Helmut Gollwitzer , Dorothee Sölle and others.

Last years

Due to age and illness, Grmič withdrew more and more from the public in the last ten years of his life, and trips abroad were too difficult for him. He caused a stir again during the Pope's visit to Slovenia in May 1996. On arrival at Ljubljana Airport on May 17, John Paul II was greeted by the Slovenian President Milan Kučan and all the country's bishops. All the bishops squatted and kissed the papal ring - only Grmič shook hands with the pope while standing.

In March 2002 Vekoslav Grmič was awarded the Slovenian Freedom Prize by President Kučan . He died on March 21, 2005 in Maribor. The Slovenian parliament held a minute of mourning for him the day after his death. The Slovenian Times obituary said about him:

“ He was a theologian, a philosopher, and a representative of the Catholic left , and he was considered a dissident by the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia . Until his death he dealt with questions of modern atheism , liberation theology and the spiritual reform of the Roman Catholic Church ... As a theologian, philosopher and ethicist , Bishop Grmič fosters the dialogue between church and state and the national coexistence of people with different beliefs supported. "

Works

• Christianity and Socialism. Contributions to a world responsible theology with special consideration of the situation in Slovenia . With a foreword by Adalbert Krims . Drava Verlag / Slovenian Scientific Institute, Klagenfurt / Celovec, 1988, ISBN 978-3854351108

More than 40 books have been published in Slovene , including:

• Vprašanja našega časa v luči teologije: sodobna evangelizacija; (The themes of our time in the light of theology: modern evangelization). Katoliški dom prosvete, Tinje / Tainach, 1978
• V duhu dialoga: za človeka gre; (In the spirit of dialogue: it's about people). Ljubljana, DZS, 1986
• Mali teološki slovar, (Small Theological Dictionary). Mohorjeva družba, Celje, 1973
• Med vero in nevero, (Between belief and unbelief). Mohorjeva družba, Celje, 1969
• Resnica iz ljubezni, (truth from love). Zadruga katoliških duhovnikov v okviru SDD, Ljubljana, 1979
• Teologija v službi človeka; (Theology in the service of man). Katoliški dom prosvete, Tinje / Tainach, 1975
• Oris nauka o veri, (Overview of the Doctrine of the Faith). Cirilsko društvo slovenskih bogoslovcev, Ljubljana, 1968
• Dogmatika (skripta), (Dogmatik scriptum), Škofijski ordinariat Maribor, 1967
• O Bogu; (About God). Cirilsko društvo slovenskih bogoslovcev, Ljubljana, 1966
• Nauk o poslednjih rečeh = Eshatologija; (Doctrine of God = eschatology). Cirilsko društvo slovenskih bogoslovcev, Ljubljana, 1967
• Humanizem problem našega časa, (humanism and the problem of our time). Založništvo tržaškega tiska, Trieste, 1983
• Življenje iz upanja, (Life of Hope). Zadruga katoliških duhovnikov, Ljubljana, 1981
• Kocbekova odločitev za OF in (njegov) krščanski etos, (Kocbeks decision for the liberation front and (his) Christian ethos). Ljubljana, 1994
• Ušeničnikovo razumevanje umetnosti - literature, (Ušeničnik's conception of art and literature), Ljubljana, 1994
• Izzivi in ​​odgovori, (challenges and answers). Unigraf, Ljubljana, 2000
• Poslednji spisi: misli o sodobnosti, (Last Writings: Thoughts on Modernity). Unigraf, Ljubljana, 2005

as co-author

• Živeti, kot da Bog je. Zahrnt, Heinz. - Petrovče: Založba Znamenje, 1994, ISBN 961-90220-0-9
• Govori o religiji. Füster, Anton. - Ljubljana: Arhiv SR Slovenije, 1992, ISBN 86-7545-003-6

Web links

• Literature by and about Vekoslav Grmič in the catalog of the German National Library
• Entry on Vekoslav Grmič on catholic-hierarchy.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Critical Christianity No. 53, December 1981, p. 11
2. ↑ Critical Christianity No. 53, December 1981, p. 12
3. ^ "Christianity and Socialism", Klagenfurt 1988, p. 3
4. ↑ "New Paths" No. 5/2005, Zurich, May 2005, p. 171
5. ^ "Slovenian Times", Ljubljana, March 23, 2005