Facts in the spotlight

The bill on property settlement between Churches and State, causing stir on Czech political scene, has been recently passed to the third reading in the parliament. Danka Jaceckova from our SIR Europe office in Bratislava has interviewed the spokesperson of the Czech Bishops’ conference, Monika Vývodová, on this matter. What are basic facts regarding the property settlement between Churches and state in Czech republic?"Altogether, the amount to be restituted was calculated in 2007: 134 billions CZK (5,36 billion EURO). Only the property currently owned by the state should be settled in this process, it doesn’t concern the property in possession of the regions, municipalities, personal or legal entities. We are talking about the property administered by the Land fund and the Forestry of Czech republic. Total amount will be divided in two parts. 75 billions CZK will be restituted in a form of property and 59 billions will be compensated to Churches and religious associations financially. Of course, the amount won’t be paid at once, it will be restituted gradually, in course of 30 years, considering the inflation rate".What role should this settlement play in gradual financial separation of Churches from the state?"If the bill on Church restitutions is approved, the contribution of the state for functioning of Churches will continue for another 17 years. During the first three years it would be frozen on the level from 2011, after this period it would gradually decrease by 5% annually, until a complete separation is reached".Who prepared the law about property settlement and what level of support does it have on Czech political scene?"Representatives of the coalition and 17 Churches and religious associations united in the Ecumenical Council of Churches and Federation of Jewish Communities in Czech republic have reached an agreement on wording of the bill. Opposition, namely social democrats and communists, are against the proposal".What are the most frequent "myths" spread in regard to the law? What does the Catholic Church do to explain them properly? "The most frequent myths concern the rumours that the Church has never possessed any property, that the calculated amount to be restituted has been overestimated and other similar demagogies. Of course, we try to react to these misstatements and explain the matters properly. On our website, there are all facts regarding the property settlement available, we have created a special section ‘Facts and myths associated with property settlement’ and we react on each of those ‘myths’ submitted especially by the media".How does the Bishops’ conference feel about the fact that the bill got to the third reading in the parliament last Friday?"Of course, we have very positive feelings about it. But there are still several steps left. The bill is in the third reading. Afterwards, the proposal will be subject to the approval of the Senate where members of social democracy have majority, so we expect that the bill will be returned back to the parliament. If the parliament approves it again, despite this obstruction, it would have to be signed by the president of Czech republic".