Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Miroslav Kocúr: For God and Nation: Christian National Populism
Miroslav Kocúr adapted and modified their own demands to what the Roman Catholic Church had managed to accomplish. This modus operandi was quite logical and this author does not view it as anything that would go beyond parameters of the ordinary given the scope of societal transformation Czechoslovakia underwent after November 1989. Public perception of social activities pursued by churches in Slovakia is largely determined by the perception of social activities pursued by the most influential player. Among Christian religious communities, that player is the Roman Catholic Church. Instead of addressing manifestations of national-populist agenda in public life, particular church leaders in Slovakia rather focused on maintaining unity vis-r-vis government in furthering their own interests. On the practical level, this attitude has shown through solidary reticence of registered churches’ leaders with respect to actual problems or even scandals within other churches. When it comes to church officials’ collaboration with the communist-era secret police or restitution issues, such mutual tolerance is not difficult to understand. Situations differ from one case to another and should not be measured by identical standards. With respect to the wartime Slovak State, though, Slovak churches have had enough opportunities to adopt an unambiguous Christian position that would render impossible any effort to question or relativize what was perpetrated in Slovakia in the name of Christian National Socialism between 1939 and 1945. The Christians and their official representatives have had many chances to take a stance, especially with respect to activities by some representatives of the Catholic Church who publicly subscribed to the ideological legacy of the period of 1939-1945 or other public statements that carried a strong stamp of ethnic intolerance and fell within the line of national populism. There have been many examples of such activities and/or statements; 1 chose those that leave little or no space to doubt that Christian universalism gave way to national populism. Not only did these clearly anti-Christian attitudes remain uncommented by Christian leaders but some of their protagonists could even rely on strong moral support from church officials. TiSO ANcj TÍHE SloVAk STATE The post-November society’s attitude to Jozef Tiso as well as to existence and regime of the wartime Slovak State was shaped shortly after the fall of communism. As a result of its tabooing by communist historians, this controversial period was relatively uncritically idealized in early stages. Before 224