Abstract
Trust in the Church Hierarchy among the Underground Church Community in Post-1968 Slovakia
Highlights
RFE and the Voice of America (VOA) filled the airwaves with promotions within two days, while in Slovakia, announcements were posted on church notice boards instructing Catholics that “we will express our support for these demands by holding lit candles during the gathering.”[54]. On 25 March 1988, more than ten thousand Catholics assembled in Hviezdoslav Square in downtown Bratislava in defiance of a police ban.[55]
In late socialist Czechoslovakia, trust in and by Catholic hierarchy was a crucial source of intra-ecclesial legitimacy, self-confidence and an important part of self-definition for the underground Catholic activists assembled in the underground Church
This gesture may not have been visible in the grand scheme of church politics, but it was crucial for the underground Catholics, delivering legitimacy and self-confidence
Summary
The opening event of the Marian year, a pilgrimage to Šaštín on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows in September 1987, helped to form the still rather diverse underground community into a unified public community. 5. (RFE) and the Voice of America (VOA) perceived the situation of the Catholic faithful as part of the broader assertion of civic society against “oppressive” communist states and fully supported the demonstration.[53] RFE and the VOA filled the airwaves with promotions within two days, while in Slovakia, announcements were posted on church notice boards instructing Catholics that “we will express our support for these demands by holding lit candles during the gathering.”[54] On 25 March 1988, more than ten thousand Catholics assembled in Hviezdoslav Square in downtown Bratislava in defiance of a police ban.[55] Crucially, for many of the Catholic participants, the demonstration fell on Good Friday, a major Catholic feast commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus. In Náboženstvo a súčasnosť, 1988, No 2, p. 8
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
