Echoes of the Council in the Church in Slovenia

Though the Catholic Church in Slovenia was practically excluded from the public media, the Catholics obtained the basic information about what was going on at the Council via the scarce Catholic press. The situation started to change after the end of the Council when the relations between the Holy See and the Yugoslavian state began to improve in 1966. When the Slovenian bishops who had taken part in the Council returned home, they implemented, in accordance with their possibilities, the guide-lines of the Council and informed the faithful about what was happening in the world Church. The paper intends to look through the reaction to the Council announcement and the expectations caused thereby, to examine how Slovenia was informed about the happenings at the Council and to evaluate the echoes after the Council. They brought about many new initiatives in pastoral care, the founding of new Catholic associations and spiritual movements, an upswing in ecumenic dialogue and interfaith contacts, a renewal of religious education, and a flourishing of the Catholic press. The ideas of the Council also entered the religious orders. Various Council anniversaries have been considered as particular occasions for the assessment of the Council influence on the Slovenian Catholic community.