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Czech govt calculation of church property contradicts law - MP ... submitted by the government, churches are to be returned one-third of their former property, confiscated by the Communists, and to receive 83 billion crowns in compensation for the rest. The compensation is to be gradually paid in the following 60 years.
Along with the interests, the sum would climb up to 270 billion crowns. The state is to financially support churches for another 20 years until they become independent. Jandak also said today he minds the "philosophy" of the bill that reckons with the separation of the church from the state, which, he said, might result in the end of traditional churches. The Chamber of Deputies established the commission to prepare a proposal for the state-church property settlement in mid-June after it became clear that the coalition cabinet of the Civic Democrats (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens (SZ) was not able to push through the respective bill in parliament. The leftist opposition as well as three senior ruling Civic Democrat (ODS) deputies headed by Vlastimil Tlusty refused to vote for the government bill,. Jandak said the state-church settlement should be based on "a broad dialogue" and not on the government coalition's order since in concerns the taxpayers' money for 60 years ahead. He added that the parliamentary commission was not divided into the government and opposition camps on this issue. Jandak admitted that some deputies across the political spectrum had no will to agreement, but he is convinced the will to consensus would win in the end. However, the documentation on the issue is so voluminous, including contradictory data sometimes, that the commission would not be able to go through it by the end of the year, Jandak said. Jandak does not support the "enumerative restitution law" that is to calculate the church property concerned. He added that the documents he received made an impression on him that first an agreement had been made with the church on the compensation level and only then supportive documents had been sought. He also criticised the fact that churches are subsidised according to the number of clergymen, which is sometimes excessively high. "The churches should be supported according to the number of believers and not priests," Jandak said. ($1=15.048 crowns)
(Ceske Noviny)
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