The Polish conservative journalism Austria-Hungary are generally rated better than the other two under the occupation. In this perspective, often they are seen as "the last Catholic Empire" - the last country performing on the political principle of Catholic universalism. It's not quite true. The reality, as usual, was much more complicated. Proaustriackie historical sentiments (some) conservatives - indeed shared by writing these words - idealize the history of the Habsburg Empire in many important aspects.
In the second half of the eighteenth century, nominally Roman Catholic Austria has become one of the leading so-called outbreaks in Europe. erastianizmu - the political aspirations of the Church to the strict subordination to the state. During the reign of Roman Emperor Joseph II (1765-1790), the Enlightenment, "crowned revolutionary", was born in the one of the most brutal erastianizmu varieties, named after its creator named Josephinism. Jozefinska practices persisted in the Habsburg Empire still in the forties the nineteenth century. To describe the multitude of perfidious means used by the Austrian state apparatus to fight with the Church, not have enough room here, at length made a Polish conservative and initiator of the Krakow historical school Fr Valerian Kalinka CR (1826-1886) in his work "and Krakow Galicia under Austrian rule" (1853). Improving
position of the Church in Austria took place only in the era of Bach "(1852-1859), that is, during the cabinet office, Alexander Baron von Bach (1813-1893). Led away its political system ("Bach regime") in the earlier and later historians did not have a good score accused him of centralizing state, the expansion of bureaucracy, government police against Germanization aspirations of the peoples of the empire - In what must surely see a cross claim by him "prey" revolutionary-democratic "spring of nations" in 1848. (No one but probably not by Bach accused of ousting the traditional social order - by abolishing courts patrymonialnych and enfranchisement of the peasants). But it is the study of Bach led to the conclusion in 1855 concordat between Austria and the Holy See. Provisions of the Concordat annul Jozefinska device and confirmed the Catholic character of the state, including introducing supervision of ecclesiastical authority over schools (curriculum control for compliance with the teachings of the Church).
Austro-Hungarian Empire, converted from a dualistic state of Austria under the Constitution of 21 December 1867, shortly afterwards on the basis of parliamentary majority, made up of liberals, the formation of the Government of Prince Karl von Auersperg, known as "cabinet bourgeois" (Bürgerministerium). He proceeded vigorously to implement the provisions of the demands the abolition of the concordat, raised in the forum of parliament for the liberal antyklerykalnie oriented environment since 1861, May 25, 1868, the Council of State voted prepared by "Cabinet bourgeois" three laws: the marriage of education and interfaith relations. They were intended as acts specify in the constitution promises "freedom of conscience" and "freedom of religion", which is a password which had already been in Europe, the standard tools of the struggle against religion (mostly Catholic). Law May zaprowadzały far-reaching (as compared to the previous) secularization of the legal system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Liberal legislation has broken most of the standards contained in the concordat (including through the introduction of "civil marriage" or to establish a rule that charges for "religious associations" may only be imposed on the individuals involved, as a result, the Austrian Administrative Court began to override the municipalities for financing the construction of churches in the municipal budget). The Catholic character of the state has been the same if not abolished, it is certainly challenged. In his defense, however, stood firmly with the originator of the Concordat of 1855 - Archbishop of Vienna Cardinal Joseph Othmar von Rauscher. Along with other bishops urged the faithful to resist the laws affecting the catholicity of the state. The government responded with criminal repression and attacks by the Minister Karl internal Giskrę stalwart in the person hierarchy. Their acts out, however prevented the Liberals Francis Joseph I, with the bishops of the law of grace. Next (since 1868) head of "a bourgeois cabinet, Edward Count von Taaffe, led in 1870 to formally break podeptanego earlier concordat. Events for the years 1867-1870 are often referred to as the Austrian Kulturkampf.
In light of these facts, the image of the Danubian monarchy as "the last Catholic Empire" turns out to be, at least to some extent, debatable. This part of contemporary native right-wing journalism, which follows the patterns endeckimi, accuses Austria-Hungary (except the heaviest in the optics faults, which is responsible multilateralism empires instead of small-state monoetniczności) that as a country had a character of "archaic" or "frozen", that is outdated. The actual deficiencies in the meantime the Habsburg Empire sprang from his modernism, not the absence of the latter. In an idealized often belle épocque revolutionary modernization but they underwent invasive - and czarist Russia and, perhaps soon, Prussia. It seems that in the Austro-Hungarian Empire s scheduling process proceeded slowly and with the greatest reluctance.
After the destruction of Austria-Hungary by the centers of secular progress made in the years 1917-1918, and planned by them before World War I, only one geopolitical entity was able to replace the old empire in its history (though not always realized) mission: to bring together Catholic nations of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as other peoples of the subregion, not wanting to live under the domination of the German or Russian - which has not become obsolete today. This entity was and is Poland.
Adam Danek
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