The conflict between the Franciscans and the diocesan clergy started with the restoration of the regular church hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina after its occupation by Austria-Hungary in 1881.
Both Barišić and Kraljević requested from the Pope to introduce secular clergy in Herzegovina, which was finally approved after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the region, and in 1881, with the papal bull Ex hac augusta the Apostolic Vicariate was elevated to the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno.
[1] The Franciscans of Herzegovina were on bad terms with Bishop Kraljević, claiming he did not give them enough of the collected alms for the construction of the friary in Humac.
[4] An anonymous letter was sent to Emperor Franz Joseph claiming the bishop was giving donations sent to him by Austria-Hungary to the Ottomans and accusing him of being a turkophile.
[5] In February 1877, Kraljević asked the Propaganda to send an apostolic visitor to Herzegovina and accused Buconjić of neglecting the parishes and the Herzegovinian Franciscans of taking the payment for maintenance by force from the believers during the Easter Communion.
Forlani finished his report in May 1878; he advised the Bishop to act in agreement with the Franciscans, to record revenues and expenditures, and to help the construction of the friary in Humac.
[8] The main issue during Buconjić's episcopate diocese was the division of parishes between the diocesan clergy and the Franciscans, who tried to confirm their dominance in Herzegovina with Rome.
Even though the papal bull Ex hac augusta ended the privileges the Franciscans enjoyed in their missionary work, they still wanted to retain all of the parishes in the diocese.
Begić informed the General about the agreement in July 1883; he received no reply so he wrote again in March 1885, when Buconjić was supposed to visit Rome and settle the issue.
That May, the General's deputy Andrea Lupori replied, asking Buconjić to take with him the contract about the parishes he signed and the definitors of the Custody.
In December 1885, Vannutelli asked Buconjić whether he agreed with Begić's proposal or to write which parishes the Franciscans should retain and which should be at his disposal.
[13] Lupori advised Friar Nikola Šimović to explain the Franciscans' position on the matter to the Nuncio in Vienna and to try to get a confirmation for their proposal.
Buconjić discussed the issue with Begić; both men wanted to preserve the strong Franciscan presence in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno.
[26] Among the parishes he established are Čapljina (1917), Izbično (1917), Čitluk (1918), Gradac-Blizanci (1918), Tepčići (1918), Jablanica (1919), Grljevići (1919), Kongora (1921), Prisoje (1922), Kruševo (1924), Ledinac (1930), Rašeljke (1934), Crnač (1935) and Šipovača (1939).
[citation needed] The Herzegovinian Franciscans used Mišić's origin as an uninformed Bosnian outsider to try to change Decisia, the decision from 1899 on the division of parishes between them end the diocesan clergy issued by the Holy See, to their advantage.
[23] On 25 April 1922, the Provincial of the Herzegovinian Franciscans Alojzije Bubalo wrote a petition for the pope to give them the parishes that were designated for the diocesan clergy by Decisia.
[25] At the time, Mišić was supposed to travel to Rome for an ad limina visit with the pope and was accompanied by friar Jerko Boras, custos of the Herzegovinian Franciscans.
Before giving the petition to the pope, Zuccotti invited Mišić, the protector of the Franciscan Order Cardinal Oreste Giorgi, and Boras to discuss the issue.
The reason for such a change was that the previous version opposed the canon law, which decreed that any newly established parish on the territory of an already existing one belongs to the bishop and not to any religious order.
[32] The Congregation ruled by a rescript on 22 June 1923 that the bishop can give the requested parishes to the Franciscans until the Holy See doesn't decree otherwise.
[36] Accordingly, on 10 January 1925, Bubalo requested Mišić to enact the rescript from 1923 since the Herzegovinian Franciscans gained the necessary approval from the General Definitory.
[38] The land for the new cathedral was later put under a lien in benefit of the Franciscan Custody of Herzegovina due to debt; at that time, Buconjić was bedridden.
In 1937, in the parish of Drinovci, the diocesan clergy became aware of the rescript and its enactment, which led to panic in its ranks as the diocese was almost dissolved.
[43] Mišić cared little about his own clergy, ordaining only 28 diocesan priests and later limiting the number of Herzegovinian candidates in 1939 at the Seminary in Travnik to only 33,[23][34] possibly under the influence of the Franciscans.
Unaware of the Franciscans' request, the diocesan priests held their own annual meeting, during which they sent a memorandum to the bishop, asking him about the situation with the parishes.
In 1941, Bruno again wrote on the issue, stating that the 21 parishes supposed to be under the bishop's disposal weren't given to him and that it was not enacted (as he was wrongly informed then).
On 10 July 1976, the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina wrote to the Pope that they "cannot take the responsibility for the consequences that would follow after they accept the decree".
[citation needed] The Mostar Cathedral of Mary, Mother of the Church was completed in the summer of 1980 and consecrated on 14 September 1980 by Cardinal Franjo Šeper, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
[citation needed] On 2 April 1995, Bishop Ratko, along with his secretary, was abducted and beaten by Croat militiamen at a local Franciscan chapel.
[49] The abduction was retaliation for Perić's intention to replace the Franciscans with diocesan priests in several parishes[citation needed] as well because of his criticism of the unconfirmed apparitions of Mary, mother of Jesus in Medjugorje.