<b>Jehlička:</b> The Law on Church Property will save the state 300 billion

Prague - By adopting the law on property settlement between the state and the churches, the Czech state will save approximately 300 billion crowns over the next sixty years. This was stated today by the chairman of the government commission for the preparation of the law and Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička. If the current system of state financing of churches were to continue in the future and the number of clergy were to grow at the same rate as so far, the state would pay about 580 billion crowns during this period.
    However, the proposed law anticipates the payment of 83 billion crowns, which the churches would receive gradually over 60 years. Including interest at 4.85 percent per year, the state would thus pay the churches about 270 billion crowns.
    According to Jehlička, the government should assess the plan for compensating the churches by the end of January. Today, the legislative council of the government is discussing the proposal. If the law is approved by Parliament this year, the churches will start receiving compensation from 2009.
     Representatives of the government commission and the churches agreed on the form of the material intention of the law, which aims to resolve the property settlement between the state and the churches after years of delays, in December of last year.
    The way the state is supposed to repay the churches for their assets is not liked by some ODS members. Vice-Chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies for the ODS Miroslava Němcová, who negotiated the settlement with the churches in the commission, considers the final amount to be too high.
    However, according to Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the final sum is not too high and the conditions of the property settlement are more favorable for the state. "The totalitarian state exploited church property and derived significant benefits from it for 40 years, and in return for its support, it returned a negligible percentage to the church. And unfortunately, our democratic regime did the same for 18 years," states the highest representative of the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic.
    The nominal value of the agreed installments will differ due to inflation over the next 60 years, he reminds. He also points out that church monuments significantly contribute to the state's revenue from tourism.