A Croatian archbishop has said that the canonisation of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac is not in doubt despite opposition from some Orthodox leaders. The Blessed led the Church in Croatia for more than 20 years – five of which, from 1946 to 1951, he spent in a communist labour camp. Archbishop Zelimir Puljic, head of the Croatian bishops’ conference, said a joint Croat-Serb commission studying Blessed Alojzije’s life would not delay his canonisation. “The Pope wants experts from the Catholic and Orthodox Churches to work together on questions needing clarification – but the canonisation itself isn’t in question,” he said. The Blessed was not on the list of saints’ Causes advanced by the Vatican in mid-December. Earlier in the month, the archbishop had told Catholic News Service: “It will take some time for the two sides to discuss everything. But there can be no doubting the heroism and saintliness of Stepinac, who resisted Nazism, fascism and communism.” In February 2014, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said a medical commission was examining an alleged cure through Blessed’s intercession. However, Serb newspapers reported that a letter from Orthodox leaders, protesting the canonisation process, had been handed to the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti. Archbishop Puljic said many Serbs believed Blessed Stepinac had collaborated with Croatia’s Nazi-allied government and had done nothing to prevent “fascist crimes” against Serb civilians. “We’re still living with the effects of communist propaganda and knowledge remains very distorted, but the Pope has expressed a clear wish to canonise Stepinac as soon as possible. We now have the time and opportunity to work through the prejudices, seeking the truth with honesty and objectivity.” The Blessed, who was made a cardinal in 1953 by Pius XII, leading Tito to break relations with the Holy See, had been imprisoned for allegedly collaborating with the previous regime.