SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH IN CROATIA Department of Social Teachings of the Church

Following the democratic changes in Croatia in 1990, social teachings of the Church became interesting not only for the Church and theology but to Croatian society in general and the science community. While social teachings of the Church were interesting in the nineties of the 20th century to resolve numerous issues relating to social-ethical content in Croatian society, in the past few years it has come across a certain rejection by some sections of public opinion that believe that Christians and the Church "have no business in public life". There are numerous inclarities surrounding social teachings of the Church in Croatia both in Croatian theology and generally in the public. This work attempts to offer a response to some important questions about the development of social teachings of the Church in Croatia. The first part of the paper, Croatian specifics and 'inclarities' and From social teachings of the Church to the Department of Social Teachings of the Church for the first time the development of social teachings of the Church are investigated as an independent theological discipline at the Catholic Theological Faculty in Zagreb. Some interesting and useful data is presented relating to terminology (such as sociology, social teachings of the Church, Catholic social teaching, social teachings of the Church) and of the professors at the Catholic Theological Faculty in Zagreb who lectured in this subject in the recent past since the emergence of the Department of Social Teachings of the Church (31 March 2000). The second section of the paper: The Time of John Paul II: Definitions and Growing Interest and Modern Challenges to the Social Teachings of the Church deals with questions of importance and significance to social teachings of the Church as a theological and social life. Special attention is dedicated to the Croatian situation which foresees the development of social teachings of the Church on a theoretical and practical level. In fact current topics that social teachings of the Church deal with, can today be presented in Croatian theology and Croatian society as a necessary factor for inter-disciplinary dialogue. This applies to the internal situation in Croatia and for Croatia itself on its path to the European Union.