“Co-responsible for the future face of Europe”. In the mind of Bishop Vaclav Maly, delegate of the Episcopal Conference of the Czech Republic for relations with the European Union (EU), there are no doubts: “Entry will involve economic and political union with Europe, but at the same time it will mean becoming co-responsible for the future face of Europe”. “Thanks to entry into the EU, our provincialism too will be overcome he added and with the re-establishment of economic links and interests our country will also enjoy greater security”. But the process of enlargement, Bishop Maly hopes, “must also favour the development of a better and deeper juridical awareness”, hitherto very low in the Czech Republic. “Respect for the law in fact constitutes the foundation of an efficient democracy. Hitherto there have been politicians who have flouted the laws, and that has hampered the education of civil society”. In this phase, so important for the country’s future, the Czech Episcopal Conference too is engaged in actively supporting EU membership. “As the country’s Episcopal Conference, we intend to publish a declaration in which we encourage our citizens to give their own assent to entry into the EU, in the forthcoming referendum planned for June 2003”. The Czech Republic was formed on 1st January 1993 following its amicable separation from Slovakia. It has a population of over 10 million inhabitants. Of these 39% are Catholics, 4.3% Protestants, 1.7% Hussites and 0.2% Orthodox. The Catholic Church is subdivided into 9 dioceses, 21 different pastoral sees and 3135 parishes. The clergy comprises 1 cardinal, 16 bishops, 1364 priests and 595 religious. Active in various sectors of civil society, the Church runs, inter alia, 66 educational institutes, subdivided between nursery, elementary and secondary schools, and 223 aid agencies.
