Refused Sacrament To Communist, Gaoled

Northern Advocate, 4 August 1949, Page 5

Refused Sacrament To Communist, Gaoled

PRAGUE, Wed. (1 p.m.).—The official Prague radio announced tonight that the State Court had sentenced a Roman Catholic priest to eight years in prison for high' treason because he refused to administer the last sacrament to a woman because she was a Communist. In addition to the prison term, the priest, Father Alois Fajstl, suffered confiscation of all his property and 10 years’ loss of civil rights.

The Communist Minister of Justice (Alexei Cepicka) threatened a fortnight ago to prosecute for treason any Roman Catholic Church official who attempted to execute the Pope’s decree of excommunication of militant Communists. In this case the woman to whom the priest was called to administer the last sacrament did not die. PROSECUTION WITNESS She appeared as a prosecution witness. Father Fajstl decilned on the ground of confessional secrecy to repeat to the court his conversation with the woman. A church authority told a Reuter correspondent today.that about 12 of Czechoslovakia’s 4500 priests had been excommunicated for supporting the Government-sponsored Catholic Action Committee. . He added that despite Government threats and Communist pressure, priests were almost unanimously supporting the bishops in their stand against the state. Dr Douska, Government representative installed in the palace of Cardinal Josef Beran, Archbishop of Prague, today issued a notice calling on all priests to report any instances of church punishments being imposed on them for supporting the state. PRIEST’S BROADCAST In the Prague radio broadcast tonight, a Ror.vnn Catholic priest, Bohus Cornocky, said that the church hierachy was acting as a “lackey and defender of capitalism’’ and referred to "the deputies of Christ appearing as helpers of the Imperialists who cannot rely only on atomic bombs, but must demand also that the servants of the Lord keep hundreds of millions in slavery under the threat of eternal punishment.” It is not known if Cornocky is one of those excommunicated.