At first, President marshal Josip Broz Tito tried to break the centuries-long link between Croatia and the Holy See by offering Archbishop Stepinac a Croatian national church but Stepinac refused, which eventually resulted in attacks on the bishops in the summer of 1952. Pope Pius XII, wishing to pay tribute to archbishop Stepinac for _his_ faithfulness, elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 1953 which triggered a reaction from the Government. <sep>, Pronoun: his