Social Activities of Priests. Initiatives by Dr. Vilko Anderlić (1882 - 1957)

Abstract

Prema do sada uglavnom neobrađenoj literaturi članak obrađuje zanimanje i poticaje dr. Vilka Anderlića u odnosu na socijalno djelovanje svećenika u prvoj polovici dvadesetog stoljeća u Hrvatskoj. Tema je važna i zbog toga što socijalno djelovanje svećenika u tom vremenskom razdoblju još uvijek nije znanstveno istraženo. U prvoj točki autor ukratko ukazuje na značenje koje Anderlić daje rješavanju socijalnog pitanja pišući knjigu pod nazivom \u27Socijologija\u27 (1912.) koja je prva takve vrste u hrvatskoj teološkoj literaturi. Druga i središnja točka rada pod nazivom \u27Svećenik je dužan socijalno djelovati\u27 bavi se pitanjem svećenikova socijalnog djelovanja. Prema Anderliću svećenikovo socijalno djelovanje ide u dva smjera: u crkvi i u susretanju s vjernicima i kulturno i materijalno djelovanje svećenika. Za Anderlića je svećenikovo socijalno djelovanje sastavni dio njegova života i pastoralnog djelovanja; svećenik treba biti aktivan kako \u27ad intra\u27 tako posebno \u27ad extra\u27. Treća točka ovoga rada raspravlja o aktualnosti Anderlićeva socijalnog govora danas posebno na pastoralno-praktičnoj razini. Autor u zaključku tvrdi da je u hrvatskoj Crkvi potrebno mijenjati mentalitet prema kojemu se svećenici i Crkva trebaju brinuti isključivo za duhovno, a socijalno djelovanje se ograničuje na prakticiranje kršćanskog caritasa. U tom kontekstu je Aderlić kao svećenik-župnik i kao intelektualac poticaj današnjim svećenicima.According to some resources that mostly haven\u27t been thouroughly studied yet, the article elaborates on Dr. Vilko Anderlić\u27s interests and initiatives related to social activities of priests in Croatia in the first half of the 20th century. This topic is also important because social activities of priests in this period haven\u27t been explored yet. In the first section the author briefly explains the significance Anderlić attributed to the solution of social issues in his book " Sociology " ( 1 9 1 2), which was the first in Croatian theological literature to deal with the issue. The second and the core point of this article titled "The priest\u27s duty is to act" deals with the issue of priests\u27 social activities. There are two different directions of priests\u27 social activities according to Anderlić: the first in the church during the encounter with the faithful, whereas the second is manifested in priests\u27 activities related to cultural and material issues. According to Anderlić a priest\u27s social activities are a consistent part of his everyday life and his pastoral work; a priest should take an active part "ad intra" and especially "ad extra". The third section of the article examines the impact of Anderlić\u27s social discourse on our time, especially at the pastoral-practical level. In the conclusion the author claims that the Church in Croatia has need of change of the existing mentality according to which the Church and its priests should only take care of the spiritual, while their social activities are limited to Christian charity. Having this in mind we can say that Anderlić as a parish priest and as an intellectual can serve as an example and a driving force to modern priests