This is the Slovak Prometheus Society‘s standpoint at the Paris gathering of Humanists organisations,

 read with the kind consent of its organisers. The Letter was presented by Rastislav Škoda , member of Prometheus Society on December 6, 2003.

Rastislav Škoda reading the letter of Prometheus Society 
(Photo: courtesy  Claude Singer )

Building a TALIBAN -LIKE Catholic dictate in Slovakia

•       Before the velvet revolution of 1989 in former Czechoslovakia one of main demands of church (mainly the Catholic Church) was SEPERATION OF STATE AND CHURCH. The governments that followed the overturn of socialist regime have betrayed this demand, and in the successor state of sovereign Slovakia they even transform Slovakia stepwise into a clerical fundamentalist Catholic State.

•       By 1992 as much as 80 % of the leading state and municipal administrative staff was replaced by persons claiming or PRETENDING religious adherence ( for which purportedly they were persecuted by the former regime). High ruling positions by now were gradually put under the control of  Catholic Church of  Slovakia, which became the extended hand of  Vatican. Staunch adherents of Christian Parties occupied the key positions in administration:

(Prime minister, president of  parliament, interior minister, Secret police, education minister, vice president for legislation and justice minister). It is worth mentioning, that the president of parliament is the nephew of cardinal and Vatican nuncios to Byelorussia.

•       The Catholic church of Slovakia received at restitution huge properties, among others such which never belonged to them, but were only in their usage. They are exempted from taxes, they received enormous state subsidies from taxes collected among others from non-believers contributions, they are exempt from duty to account to state what for they spent the subsidies.

•       They have built in recent years about 700 brand new churches and many sacral buildings, including luxurious parsonages. In two years time (1990-1992) the numbers of ecclesiastic schools soared to 104, instead of one theological faculty there are now five, and a new Catholic university was launched .  Starting from this year the Education minister M. Fronc decreed compulsory teaching of optional religion /or ethics starting from first form of primary schools (with possibility to have religion in NURSERY schools)

•       The State universities offer study of missionary profession, who are sent out to Asian nations to proselytise the natives.

•       In numbers of published books they (religious books) reached a record second place recently (more titles than in agriculture, or health and medicine, or politics and economy, or natural sciences).

•       They receive the major part of financial funds of  Culture ministry earmarked for promoting culture of the WHOLE nation. They infiltrated by NGO-s disseminating religion the whole civil sector; more than 200 organisation in the Slovak NGO-s directory claim their main aim to spread religious ideas.

•       Public TV and radio are airing more than 20 regular serials with religious topics. Besides, the Catholic Church owns a special religious broadcasting station.

•       In armed forces and units of interior ministry pastoral, state-paid services were established. At University hostels (campuses) pastoral CENTRES were established.

•       The Basic Treaty with Vatican (Concordat) contains provisions never before agreed upon by any other nation, which covertly or openly replaced civil laws in Slovakia by some provisions of canonical law.

•       In particular: stipulation of conscience allowing civil disobedience to Catholics, making of them a privileged group with rights to civil disobedience. It stipulates Catholic morals for all citizens, infiltration of public schools by religious teaching, financing of church activities from the State budget. This treaty has robbed Slovakia of its sovereignty and made of it factually a colony of Vatican.

•       In one single decade Slovakia received the THIRD (September   2003) visit of pope, while rich nations like USA had in 50 years time only one single such visit. This is paid from State budget under the pretext of being a visit of the head of State.

•       This well premeditated policy should secure to Vatican a strong grip in the future unified Europe to expand its policy of regaining again decisive influence in the whole Europe.

•      THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION SHOULD SERVE THESE PURPOSES by enshrining in it the Christian Religious Heritage of the European culture (which is a delusive deception, because it is a heritage of most terrible crimes and bloodsheds!)

•      It is urgently proposed to NEVER accept anything like that, because it may be the backdoor for implanting in European policy again the boundless religious dominance spreading hatred against all other convictions, instead of PLURALITY and mutual understanding between people of different convictions.

•               OBSERVANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS prohibits inclusion of any reference to religion, because these two things are absolutely not compatible.

•               BESIDES, CANDIDATE STATES ASPIRING TO ACCESSION IN EU SHOULD NEVER BE

ADMITFED IN THE EU, UNLESS THEY REMOVE ALL LEGAL MEASURES SECURING THERE A RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALIST REGIME. AND UNLESS THEY SECURE EQUAL TREATMENT BY SPECIAL LEGISLATURE FOR ALL CITIZENS WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION

On behalf of Prometheus Society

Dr Ivan Poljak

Chairman