Background
Mate Uzinić was born on September 17, 1967 in Dubrava near Omiš where he attended elementary school, after which he moved to Split in order to attend high school in the Split Archdiocesan Seminary.
Mate Uzinić was born on September 17, 1967 in Dubrava near Omiš where he attended elementary school, after which he moved to Split in order to attend high school in the Split Archdiocesan Seminary.
After finishing high school in 1988, Uzinić enrolled in Faculty of Catholic Theology from which he graduated in 1993.
Uzinić was ordained to the priesthood on June 27, 1993. From 1993 to 1995 he served as Vicar in Omiš, and from 1995 to 1996 priest in small village Otrić-Seoci in Pojezerje municipality. From 1996 he continued studies in Pontifical Lateran University, where he earned licentiate in canon and civil law in 2000.
From 2000 to 2002 he served as judicial vicar and judge in a First instance ecclesiastical court in Split.
On 24 January 2011, Uzinić was appointed Bishop of Dubrovnik by pope Benedict XVI. He received his episcopal consecration from Marin Barišić, with Josip Bozanić and Želimir Puljić serving as co-consecrators on 19 March 2011. Bishop Uzinić is considered to be theologically moderate.
He is the only Croatian bishop that uses Facebook regularly. On April 26, 2012, Uzinić held a speech on Symposium of priest of the Diocese of Šibenik in which he talked about child abuse scandals, and had stated among other that "Church must put victim on the first place, and not the abuser or the Church as an institution, as it has been done in the past
If we do that, all victims of sexual abuse would not look at Church as enemy, but as helper and friend.
That day has not yet arrived, and that means that we are not yet fully Church that we are called to be."
He cited Romans 12:17-18. "Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all mentor
If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all mentor"
In August 2015, while referring to the European migrant crisis, Uzinić stated that "we must not look at people through prejudice, we need to meet them and meet with them.
Refusing to help refugees is like a war crime.".