While civil investigation continues, canonical proceedings against a priest of the Diocese of Požega are on hold, and the Croatian Bishops' Conference clarifies who is responsible for conducting them.
The Zagreb Municipal State Attorney's Office is conducting an investigation to determine whether there are grounds for criminal charges, and in the meantime, the church proceedings against I. Ž., a priest of the Diocese of Požega, have been completely halted, at the explicit request of civil authorities. The Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK) on Wednesday dismissed some media claims, emphasizing that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has not reached a final verdict on guilt nor imposed any penalty.
"First and foremost, the claim that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has established the priest's guilt and ordered his punishment is incorrect," the HBK stated, adding that the competent Dicastery only ordered the initiation of canonical criminal proceedings. Any potential criminal liability, they stressed, will be determined within the proceedings themselves, not before they begin.
The Bishops' Conference also rejected claims that Zagreb Archbishop Dražen Kutleša appointed officials to conduct the proceedings, clarifying that the Bishop of Požega, Ivo Martinović, is solely responsible for this, given that I. Ž. is a priest of that diocese. However, the canonical proceedings themselves are currently on hold.
"After church authorities informed the competent civil authorities about the case, at their explicit request, the canonical criminal proceedings have been temporarily postponed until the civil investigation is concluded," the HBK explained, adding that the aim is to prevent any threat to or compromise of the investigation being conducted by state bodies.
Although the HBK did not deny having prior information about this case, the priest was removed from his parish post only after the story reached the media. The Conference now emphasizes that as soon as they received concrete information about a potential criminal offense, they "immediately relieved him of all duties and functions within the Conference's bodies and offices," and forwarded all documentation to state authorities.
They also stressed that decisions regarding the priest's status in his home diocese are not within the HBK's purview but solely the diocesan bishop's. Neither Bishop Ivo Martinović of Požega nor his predecessor, retired Bishop Antun Škvorčević, responded to Novi list's inquiries regarding this case.
According to earlier reporting by Dnevnik.hr, I. Ž. began sexually abusing a then-16-year-old student of the Interdiocesan Seminary on Zagreb's Šalata more than 25 years ago, with the abuse spanning approximately ten years. The victim spoke out during his studies in Vienna, and the then-Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, reportedly informed Croatian bishops about these allegations as early as 2018.
Dnevnik.hr also reported that the Vatican conducted an investigation into the case from 2024 to 2025, with the results and instructions for further action sent to the HBK in April. However, while the civil investigation continues, the church proceedings remain on hold, along with any decision on responsibility.
