Seminary Abuser on Šalata Shielded Church Leadership for Years
Investigative journalism has uncovered a decade of sexual abuse and systematic cover-up within the Catholic Church in Croatia. The State Attorney's Office has launched an investigation.
Investigative journalism has uncovered a decade of sexual abuse and systematic cover-up within the Catholic Church in Croatia. The State Attorney's Office has launched an investigation.
Telegram journalists Vanja Moskaljov and Mladen Pleše, in their extensive investigation, have exposed harrowing details of long-term sexual abuse of minors at the Catholic Church's Minor Seminary on Zagreb's Šalata. The case reveals not only the suffering of the victims but also a deeply entrenched system of concealment and protection of the perpetrator by the highest church structures, including the Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK).
The story begins in the early 2000s when a 15-year-old boy entered the seminary on Šalata. At that time, the institution had between 100 and 150 students from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. After just one year, as a 16-year-old, he became the sexual prey of one of the educators, a priest who was supposed to be his role model. The abuse began with inappropriate touching and quickly escalated into more explicit forms, lasting until the end of his four-year secondary education at the Archdiocesan Classical Gymnasium.
Within the closed complex, in the shadow of the monumental Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the victim was completely isolated. According to the investigation, boys in seminaries, separated from their families, often do not seek help out of fear and shame, and they perceive their abusers in priestly robes as untouchable authorities, making the whole trap extremely effective.
During his schooling, the victim tried on several occasions to complain to the responsible theologians, but each time he was silenced with threats. The persecution continued after graduation when the young man moved on to church studies in Đakovo, where he again faced a wall of silence. According to information from several sources within the Catholic Church, it is impossible that bishops and high-ranking clergy were unaware of the long-term abuse occurring within their area of responsibility.
The turning point came in 2012 when the emotionally broken young man confided in a friend during his theological studies in Vienna. This friend reported the case to Cardinal Schönborn, who then informed church authorities in Croatia and the Vatican. In Croatia, his letter was met with an "impenetrable wall."
Although the Vatican delayed for years, an official investigation was finally launched in 2024. It lasted a year, and during that time, the seriously suspected priest was not suspended. Moreover, during the investigation, he was appointed parish priest in the Diocese of Požega and remained in high-ranking positions within the HBK related to youth work.
The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith found the priest guilty of sexual abuse that lasted a full decade. In April of this year, an instruction arrived at the HBK to conduct a summary procedure and punish the perpetrator. However, church authorities again failed to react until journalists published their investigation. Only then was the priest relieved of all duties and stripped of his position as parish priest.
In the meantime, the State Attorney's Office in Zagreb has launched an investigation into criminal offenses of sexual abuse and cover-up. Following the publication of the journalistic articles, several more individuals have come forward to report that they too were victims of abuse during their schooling at the seminary on Šalata, indicating that this case is not isolated.
Although the HBK declaratively expresses "compassion for the victims," Telegram reports that the institution still claims the process is not complete, despite the Vatican's clear decision. Such behavior is described as "throwing dust in the eyes of the public" and directly undermines the credibility of the victim protection system mandated by Pope Francis. Archbishop Mate Uzinić of Rijeka is one of the few high-ranking church officials who has publicly spoken out about abuse in his archdiocese.
Today, as interest in the priestly vocation drastically declines and the seminary on Šalata has only 18 students, the bitter question remains how many similar cases have remained hidden behind church walls, as Croatia has never conducted an independent and comprehensive investigation into the extent of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
