CATHOLIC BISHOPS ASK REVISION OF COERCIVE LAW

Grey River Argus, 7 November 1949, Page 5

CATHOLIC BISHOPS ASK REVISION OF COERCIVE LAW

Church Now Put Outside Law (N.Z.P.A.—REUTER CABLE) (Rec. 10.5). PRAGUE, Nov. 5. Czechoslovakia’s Catholic bishops to-day issued the text of a petition which they have addressed to the Czech Government, calling for the revision of its new church laws. The petition condemned these laws for “unconstitutionally” taking away the freedom of the bishops to manage their church affairs. It is signed by 7 the Archbishop of Olomouc, Most Rev. Doctor Josef Matocha; and the others of the hierarchy, but it is not signed by 7 the Archbishop of Prague, Most Rev. Dr Josef Beran, nor by his auxiliaries. The bishops said that the old system of church government included feudal practices which should have been abolished. They claim that the new laws, however, have re-intro-duced “feudal practices in the form of State patronage”. The new law's, in the bishops’ view, have failed to respect the church’s autonomy in the conduct and direction of its religious matters; and the new State office’ for church affairs was being given the right “to unlimited interference”. The petition said: “The Roman Catholic Church, in this country, has d e facto, been placed outside of any legal standing. The State now claims the right to fill the vacancies in the spiritual offices, and also to refuse to consent to the nominations of clergymen, for reasons of political ideology. This conflicts with the basic clause of the Constitution on thefreedom of worship. The new law does not respect the autonomy of the church in direction and control of the matters of belief, of morals, of divine service, of church discipline, of religious instruction, and of membership of the church; so tnat freedom of worship is not guaranteed. “The performance of religion is now exposed to the danger of being frustrated by political factors. There is a great danger that, in the execution of the internal church matters, the church will be defamed, and that her spiritual activity will be valued from purely 7 political viewpoints. “The Government should assure the Catholic Church of a firm legal standing and of independence of activity in the church’s internal affairs by issuing a collective religious law”.