A government Committee for relations between Church and State was set up in Prague in recent days. The committee consists of six members. It is chaired by the Minister of Culture. Its task is to continue, on behalf of the Government, the negotiations with a commission formed by representatives of the Churches. The Czech Minister for Culture Vaclav Jehlicka has outlined the provisions needed to solve the questions relating to relations between the Czech Republic and the Churches. The regulation of these relations especially concerns the compensation due to the Church (95% of it to the Catholic Church) for properties expropriated by the Communist regime. To solve the problem of the restitution of confiscated properties, Jehlicka has said he thinks it preferable to restore properties to the religious orders and congregations on the one hand, and to pay money in compensation to the dioceses and non-Catholic Churches on the other.
