The breath of a Church

Among newly appointed cardinals by pope Benedict XVI there is also a president of the Czech Bishops’ conference, archbishop of Prague Dominik Duka. SIR Europe (Bratislava) correspondent, Danka Jaceckova, has interviewed him about the life of the Catholic Church in Czech republic.Interim results of the Census 2011 have shown that about 1/3 of inhabitants claim to be of no religious belief and almost half of the population ignored the question regarding their faith in the census sheet. About 10 % people confessed to be Catholics. How can you comment on these figures?"We know that 3,8 – 3,9 million of current inhabitants of Czech republic have been baptized in Roman Catholic Church. About 1 million people put their faith in everyday practice and have fulfilled our reccomendation to confess their religious belief. The fact that most of the baptized don’t claim to belong to the Catholic Church has roots in the 20th century, the period we could call ‘genocide’ of the Catholic Church. After the World War I, 1/4 of the Czechs converted to the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. After the World War II, on the base of deportation of the citizens of German nationality, we lost another quarter, followed by two waves of emigration in 1948 and 1968. There was a forced atheization that intimidated many people and made them stop practising their faith. I belong myself to the youngest generation of the persecuted. These are the facts we need to take into account. Another problem is caused by lower birthrate. Actual numbers of the census point to two things – that the number of really practising Catholics rises and that the relation between the non-practising baptized Catholics and the core of the Church has weakened. It reflects certain tendency of our Church to remain closed, sort of insufficient effort towards evangelization and missionary dimension".What are the future plans of the Catholic Church in regard to these facts?"We have two principal tasks. The first one is associated with radical reform of catechesis, because of all post-communist countries we have the lowest presence at schools. The second very important task concerns formation of new vocations and family matters. Family politics requires more intense support from the side of institutions, Roman Catholic Church included".Czech republic is considered to be one of the most secularized countries in Europe…"It is one of the myths. In fact, Czech republic is much less secularized than Holland, Belgium, Scandinavian countries or Baltic states, except Lithuania. This is the reality we need to accept. Secularization of Czech republic, as I said, is not a matter of the last 20 years, it’s a matter of a much longer time. If I travel around Europe and look at the visit rate of the churches in Germany, Holland, Belgium and Czech republic, I don’t feel that I live in the secularized country". Discussion about the property composition between state and Churches in Czech republic is culminating. What are the basic facts regarding this matter?"Proposed law is about partial compensation and property composition. It should meet desires of those who want that the Churches wouldn’t be financed from the state budget. The Churches, in fact, are not financed directly from the budget, although the flow of money goes through it. The income from the property confiscated by the communist regime after 1948, constitutes 4,5 billions of Czech crowns for the whole society. Churches and religious communities utilize 1,5 billion of this amount, the rest (3 billions) goes to the joint budget bringing benefit to everyone. We guarantee that no atheist or non-Catholic pays for the expenses of the Churches. The law sets out the compensation in two parts. The first one concerns restitution of the property in possession of the state (mostly forests and lands). The property that can’t be returned in its original form, will be restituted financially during the following 30 years. Continuous financing of the Churches will last 17 years, with gradually lowering contribution from the state by 5% every year. Generously looking amount of 60 billions Czech crowns that are to be paid to the Churches, should be calculated in an appropriate way. Currently, the Churches receive 1‰ from the state budget. In the concurrence of the compensation and partial financing it will be 2,5‰ annually. It is necessary to realize that it is not a gift for the Churches but a mutual exchange for the property. This proposal has been approved by the Government of Czech republic and at the end of January it was passed to the second reading by the Parliament".How do you see position and contribution of the Catholic Church in Czech republic within the Church community of Europe?"I would be more modest here. Our position is not as good as in times of St. Cyril and Methodius, king Charles IV or emperor Rudolph II. I think we have become a part of Europe and status of Prague and presence of the Velehrad tradition is a certain reminder for the European community, for the European Church, that there is a presence of another side of ‘ungs’, necessary for the life of Europe. Although, on the base of the Latin Christianity, we belong more to the western than the eastern side of those lungs".