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The third visit of pope John Paul II to Slovakia

This happening has stirred the still waters of press in Slovakia, but what was most remarkable, a host of critical voices emerged, which has been not a common phenomenon in Slovakia since long.

Lots of discussions to informative press releases in newspapers, and numbers of reactions were unbelievably large. One part of them was a critique backed by qualified evidence, but opinions tinged with emotions were not missing. Neither were indignant voices of criticised religious fanatics missing.

Therefore we want to express the position taken by PROMETHEUS SOCIETY, sent in a letter to the pope himself and to a host of other constitutional officers of Slovakia

To

Pope John Paul II.

In September of this year you are about to make your third visit to Slovakia. The mission of your preceding two visits was to strengthen the religious self-respect of believers, belief in freedom and human dignity. YOU often and repeatedly expressed words like love, righteousness, human solidarity, fraternity, humility, and reconciliation. Those are the words from YOUR encyclicals, and the book The Gods plan- the Ten Commandments for the Third Century, as well.

We want to point out, that your previous visits did not bring anything what YOU and the believers expected from them. They did not enhance the civic consciousness of believers, did not improve their social situation, did not bring them any improved social care and freedom, did not cause a spiritual and moral revival of Slovakia.

Transformation of Slovakia after 1989 based on privatising meant re-establishing capitalism. That has released all egotistic instincts; greed for ownership and a new branch of men rolling in riches took the fate of people in their hands. YOU were coming in Slovakia with the message of human solidarity and justice, but a very strange justice was accomplished at the restitutions of properties, privatising, in distributing, selling out, and larceny of all the wealth the owner of which was in reality the nation.

YOUR words did not promote the faith in human values and human dignity, did not bring humility and reconciliation . The invisible hand of free market, the rush for richness, insatiable greediness deprives people of their  judgement and morals and throws them into inhumane actions. We witness a merciless struggle for wealth (as not a fruit of one’s own labour, but of hard work of others.) Sibling stands against his own sibling, father against his own son, neighbours against each other, entrepreneur against entrepreneur, knifes and pistols are ever more in use. No social justice, no equality, but inequality are considered a natural status, or social rule. Unemployment, restrictions in the basic social services, decline in quality of life are no more considered social ailments, but a normal phenomenon by the structures wielding power in Slovakia. In the framework of philosophy, that human beings should take care of themselves, social justice has been rejected as an obsolete myth, That is why social injustice ever more keeps down people as the result of not even-handed distribution of the wealth and of the inherent inequality of private ownership.

YOU came in Slovakia as the harbinger of freedom. But even at this point YOUR message did not materialise. Those human value were degraded to freedom of ownership only. We are deeply confident, that there is no freedom without social justice. That is the decisive matter for Slovakia and its future in the integrated Europe.

In Slovakia comparatively rapidly a rank of rich people was created, but the majority of the society was thrown in poverty ( pensioners , unemployed, the youth) One third of the whole community live at the margin of social life. The economic situation ever more impairs, social problems are getting a big burden , the quality of life declines, including fulfilment of basic cultural needs, the spiritual and moral crisis of the society deepens. The human interrelations are the worst the majority of our people complain about. The plaque of greed, mammon, money, and parasitic consume holds a strong grip of the whole society and dissolve also the institution of family.

YOUR visits to Slovakia did not bring about its spiritual and moral renewal. It seem to be evident that the inner world of values both of the individual and of the society as a whole,  are shaped by much more complicated factors.

We want to address YOU having in mind the benefit of Slovakia and its future to ponder whom YOU will bless during YOUR third visit to Slovakia. We want to solicit for YOUR blessings to those who remained honest, who did not burdened their lives by vast real estate properties, banks, huge warehouses, banking accounts abroad, to bless those paupers, who were robbed of their properties, those whom richness did not confuse their brains.

Presidium of Prometheus Society.

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