OUR AMERICAN PARTNERS inform about situation in Slovakia.

HUDSON VALLEY HUMANIST ——— October 2003

 Thoughts from Friends —— This month our contributor is Dr. Alexander Rehak, Prometheus Society, Slovakia

Slovakia: a Steppingstone to a Re-Christianized Europe?

The pope after arriving in Bratislava said, "In a short time, your country will become a member of the union of European nations. My beloved, do contribute with your rich Christian tradition to the building of an identity of the new Europe and do not comfort yourselves only with searching economic advantages."

After the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the pope declared a "Re-evangelization" of Europe and the whole world thereafter. The decline of religiosity, especially in Europe,

lead him to declare this war. The main enemy became democracy along with its human rights, which contradict Catholic dogma. The Vatican began searching for allies and Slovakia was pulled into this political game.

When the former Prime Minister, V. Mečiar, visited the Vatican he proclaimed: "Slovakia could become a model of church/state relation with a special respect for Christian values". The pope responded with a great pleasure saying, "This could change the future of the whole humankind."

All succeeding governments remained dedicated to this aim and gradually managed to implant within the state policy of Slovakia a CLERICAL FUNDAMENTALIST REGIME. The parties involved hoped that after accession of Slovakia in the European Union these trends would reverse the current progress of secularizing Europe. The third visit of the pope to Slovakia (in thirteen years, expenses paid from taxpayer's money) was to serve these purposes.

This process orchestrated from Vatican did not take into account changes in the people's ways of thinking, especially of the younger generation. At the airport of Bratislava the pope was "welcomed" by a demonstration of young people protesting against the ever increasing and unrestricted expansionist policy of Catholic Church The same group of young people tried to paste some placards before the pope's arrival, but were arrested by police.  Nevertheless they are planning in Bratislava another demonstration against the expansionist policy of church. The public discussion in electronic forums are full of discontent against clericalism in Slovakia, but not so much in press - because of the "covert censorship."

There is hardly any chance that Slovakia, a country of 5 million, will reverse the progress toward secularism in unified Europe with its 370 millions of inhabitants. The pope and his Slovak allies bet on a wrong card. The Vatican cannot loose anything of course but the puppet- Slovakia- can loose much. It could take decades until Slovakia becomes real democracy again.

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