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 Archbishop Sokol celebrated annual requiem masses on the anniversary of Tiso’s execution that regularly turned into manifestations of sympathies with regime of the wartime Slovak State. Public resistance to Sokol’s endeavour took on various fonns, including a civic initiative endorsed by almost 2000 signatories who decisively refused his efforts to combine requiem masses in honour of Jozef Tiso with excusing the regime of the state he led.9 After the initiative held a public rally called Nie fašizácii Slovenska [No to Fascization of Slovakia] on September 11, 2008, national populism sentiments began to radicalize on the highest rungs of the legislative and executive power. The statements by Justice Minister Štefan Harabin and MP Vladimír Mečiar (HZDS) addressed to MP Daniel Lipšic (KDH) went not only beyond the limit of political correctness but even that of elementary human decency. On February 10, 2007, Head of the Conference of Slovak Bishops (KBS) František Tondra made part of the informed public uneasy by an interview for the Sme daily. When the reporter asked him about Sokol’s statements regarding his reverence for President Jozef Tiso and the so-called affluence during the war in the state led by him, Tondra responded by saying he was not happy that Sokol “let himself go on about the subject”. When addressing the Tiso issue himself, Tondra said it was so complicated it was virtually impossible to take an unambiguous stance on it. “There are advocates and there are critics,” he said. “There are arguments in favour of founding the Slovak State. One should distinguish between founding a state and his president. I am not a historian but everything I know tells me the Slovak State had to be established if we were to maintain independence.” The greatest outrage caused the passage in which Tondra argued that representatives of the Jewish community had visited Tiso and tried to persuade him not to give up. According to Tondra, when Tiso learned about the consequences he wanted to give up presidency but the Jews convinced him not to. Tondra also believes that a memorial was raised in Tiso’s honour in 1967 in Jerusalem. In this context, Tondra used a chance to rebuff unjustified criticism aimed at the Catholic Church. “Tiso was neither authorized by the church nor was he the president on its behalf,” he said. “The Vatican was against it and so were many priests in Slovakia.” Due to its factual nature, the reaction by representatives of the Jewish religious community is cited in unabridged version.10 As far as its official position on the holocaust goes, the KBS published a statement that reflects the Vatican’s official position on this historical period and the responsibility of the Catholic Church for what took place 226
