Czech restitution plan may unlock vast church lands

[Dale_M]

Bent on building a society free of religion, the communists seized the [400 year old archbishop’s residence] of the diocese of Prague, and thousands of other church properties and threw clergymen into labor camps and prisons or forced them into exile.

Now the government plans to return $4 billion of property and pay $3 billion in financial compensation over 30 years - about 3.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product combined - to the churches, about four-fifths of it to the Catholic church.

The plan, which a clear majority of Czechs oppose, was approved by the lower house of parliament in an initial vote in February when the government was enjoying the strongest majority in 20 years. Although a political crisis in April has reduced that majority to a handful of votes, the bill is still expected to pass.

news.yahoo.com/czech-restitution-plan-may-unlock-vast-church-lands-152416837.html;_ylt=ApK6MLLpBW1hV8n9myIx6Y1Rsa8F;_ylu=X3oDMTQzamllMm4wBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBVU1NGIFJlbGlnaW9uU1NGBHBrZwM4ODZiYTg3ZS1lYTFkLTM0NmYtODFlNC0wYWM2ZmNkZTE1OTQEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDYTA3NzVkMjAtOWI3ZC0xMWUxLWE4ZmEtNmFhNDE2NzE4NjRj;_ylg=X3oDMTFlamZvM2ZlBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

The plan sounds like an attempt at justice, and it promises economic development for rural areas. Surely these are good things. But if the majority of Czechs oppose the plan, is there a possibility of backlash against the Church?

The Czech Republic has the highest percentage of atheists in the European Union (37%) Compare that to neighboring Poland (5%) or Slovakia (14%), The number of Czechs who identify as Catholic has dropped by more than 50% during the past decade. The total percentage of all Christians is now only 11%.

According to the article, the issue of restitution has been repeatedly delayed, long after its former Soviet bloc neighbors, because the issue is so controversial.

Is the issue of restitution of Catholic property different than returning lands promised by treaties to Native American tribes?

 

[gus]

In reality there is little difference.
Catholic properities have been routinely seized for 1000 years.As was that of avarierty of ethnic groups. Germans were dispossed at the end of WWII.
Its really at the mercy of those currently holding the land and the laws of those States.

 

[Nine_Two]

If I was Czech I’d probably be against this as well. That money has to come from somewhere, paying it is going to cause hardship in society, and lets face it, if the churches are following the teachings of Christ, almost all that money should go toward relieving hardship.

 

[manualman]

Physical assets in the hands of the government should be returned: Churches, real estate, sacred art, liturgical treasures, etc. Cash restitution? No. Governments HAVE no money except what they take from taxpayers. Today’s Czech taxpayers bear no guilt for the crimes of their former Communist leaders.

Give back the hard assets and let the people of faith rebuild on their own. We’ve bounced back from worse…

 

[Nine_Two]

A Czech acquaintance of mine (a non-Christian) told me he is for this, it seems the government has been lax on upkeep of the sites and he is sure the church’s will do a better job of preserving their cultural heritage.