Protests have been expressed by the Churches of the Czech Republic against a new law that, since 7 January of this year, has limited religious activity, decreeing de facto “a return to the Communist period”. According to the new legislation, it will be the government’s representatives that authorize the opening of places of cult and the formation of new religious communities. The law also obliges religious associations such as Caritas to register as businesses and hence to submit to the normal fiscal regime. The new law was approved by Parliament, in spite of the veto pronounced by the Senate and by President Vaclav Havel. “We still don’t understand explains Nadeje Mandysova, secretary of the Czech Ecumenical Council, which groups together 11 Protestant and Orthodox Churches why such a campaign of hostility towards us has been launched”. The Catholic Church has also protested. In the view of Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the law represents “a real threat for democracy and the freedom of the Church guaranteed by the Constitution”.
