The plaque commemorating the 60th anniversary of the climb of Mt. Triglav by the Zagreb archbishop, who later became cardinal, was unveiled on the mountain last Saturday in the presence of senior Roman Catholic dignitaries from Slovenia and Croatia. Representatives of civil authorities did not attend.
Most Slovene media described the event as controversial, stating that the Catholic Church was "symbolically conquering Triglav" and that Stepinac was a historically controversial figure, as well as that the church should not unveil monuments on the mountain which evokes deeply sentimental, almost mythical feelings in Slovenes.
Andrej Saje, press representative for the Slovene Bishops Conference, said in the statement that the plaque was placed in a chapel belonging to the Catholic Church and that it did not "pollute Slovene mountains" as said in a statement carried by the Ljubljana daily Dnevnik.
Such insulting statements represent hate speech and intentional spreading of animosity towards the church, the bishops said in the statement, adding that Stepinac was not a controversial person and that accusations levelled against him were made up by those who sentenced the cardinal "in a rigged political trial" and were the result of "the propaganda of a regime that has collapsed".