Czech Catholics file suit over cathedral ownership

(RNS/ENI) Catholic leaders in the Czech Republic have appealed to the country’s Constitutional Court over a ruling that gives the state ownership of Prague’s 14th century St. Vitus Cathedral. “Suffice it to say, this cathedral has always belonged to the church, so we can’t understand how it can be said to be state property,” said […]

(RNS/ENI) Catholic leaders in the Czech Republic have appealed to the country’s Constitutional Court over a ruling that gives the state ownership of Prague’s 14th century St. Vitus Cathedral.

“Suffice it to say, this cathedral has always belonged to the church, so we can’t understand how it can be said to be state property,” said the Rev. Juan Provecho, spokesman for the Czech Bishops Conference.

“The same people who were hostile to the church under the communist regime are still at work today, taking decisions against the church and everything associated with it.”


The twin-spired cathedral, which dominates the Prague skyline, was founded in 1344 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and declared national property by the former communist regime in 1954.

Although it was restored to the Catholic Church in 1994 five years after the collapse of communist rule, Czech legislators insisted the gothic building had been built from state funds and launched a series of appeals.

In 2007, a district court in Prague upheld procedural complaints from President Vaclav Klaus, whose office adjoins the cathedral, and ordered the Archdiocese of Prague to hand over the building.

That ruling was appealed to the nation’s Supreme Court, which ruled March 5 in favor of the government. Provecho said church leaders believe the ruling was “one-sided” since one of the Supreme Court judges was a former Communist Party member.

Church officials have filed an appeal with the country’s Constitutional Court, which is charged with protecting citizens’ constitutional rights, and say they are also ready to present their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Provecho told Ecumenical News International that church leaders are disappointed that public opinion appears to have accepted the verdict, and said some Czech Christians had acquiesced “so as not to give the state problems.”


“The Czech Republic is the most atheist country in central Europe, and this is why people here often say the church is only thinking about property and money,” Provecho said. “Church leaders are angry that, 20 years after the end of communist rule, many of the same things are still happening here.”

The fate of the cathedral and other communist-seized church properties is expected to be debated ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s September 26-28 pilgrimage to Prague, Brno and Stara Boleslav.

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