Czechoslovakia: Treatment of Roman Catholics in Czechoslovakia, including those who refuse to adhere to the Communist Party because of their religious convictions

Roman Catholicism is the largest of Czechoslovakia's officially registered religions. There are an estimated eight to eleven million adherents in the country. [Country Reports on Human Rights for 1988 (Washington: US Department of State, 1989) p. 1025.] "Scientific Atheism" is the official ideology of the state, but freedom of religion is ostensibly guaranteed in the Czech constitution. [Ibid., p. 1021.]

Since 1969, however, activities of churches and religious communities in Czechoslovakia have been increasingly restricted, according to Amnesty International. [Amnesty International, Intolerance and Discrimination on Grounds of Religion or Belief, (London, 1984), p. 4.] All churches must be registered officially in order to function and all clergy are licensed and paid by the state. Although this latter fact is a 300 year-old tradition in Czechoslovakia, it is now being used increasingly to curtail the activities of the Church. ["Czechoslovak Catholics Appealing for Rights" in The New York Times (21 February 1988).] For example, licenses can be withdrawn without explanation and among those who have lost their license are several bishops. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1024.] It is estimated that 200 to 300 out of a total of approximately 3500 Roman Catholic priests are barred from exercising their office and must earn a living as manual labourers. [Intolerance and Discrimination on Grounds of Religion or Belief, p. 4.] One priest, the Rev Vaclav Maly had his license revoked in 1979 after he signed a human rights petition and has since worked as a coal stoker, a lavatory cleaner in the Prague subways, and as a construction worker. [Michael T. Kaufman: "A Priest (No, Says State) for Rights" in The New York Times (25 April 1987) p. A4.] Moreover, the organization of religious ceremonies in private homes is banned. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1021.] In April 1987, a Roman Catholic priest was sentenced to eight months in prison for conducting mass in a private apartment without a license. ["Czech priest jailed for illegal mass" in The Ottawa Citizen (15 April 1987), p. A17.]

Two articles of the Czech penal code in particular relate to the view of the State in respect of religious practice. Article 178 covers "obstruction of the State supervision of religion" and carries a sentence of up to two years. [Amnesty International, Briefing: Czechoslovakia, (London, 1981), p. 8.] It states that "The clergy can only carry out their ministry with the prior approval of the state." [Janice A. Broun, "Religion in Czechoslovakia, Twenty Years After", Freedom at Issue, September-October 1988, p. 16.] Anyone engaged in pastoral activities without state approval is considered guilty of an infraction under Article 178 of the penal code and in practice any parish councils, organizations and outreach of any kind are banned. [Ibid.] Article 101 covers "misuse of religious function", and carries a prison sentence of six months to three years. [Briefing: Czechoslovakia, p. 8.] Both Articles 101 and 178 have been used to convict clergy for carrying out their duties as priests. [Ibid.]

Membership of clergy in Pacem in Terris, an organization which has not been recognized by the Vatican since 1982, [Freedom at Issue, p. 16.] is necessary in order to receive good positions in the Church hierarchy. Although members of the clergy belonging to this organization control most cathedral chapters, as well as the only legally published Catholic newspaper, Katolicke Noviny; the Vatican has realized that these clergy due to their known State links are unacceptable in the eyes of the faithful. [Ibid, pp. 1025-1026. and Freedom at Issue, p. 16.]

Catholics are further hampered in the practice of their religion due to restrictions on religious literature. Printing is severely restricted and Bibles are in short supply. Legally published religious materials are furthermore subject to strict censorship. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1022.] These and other religious tracts are therefore smuggled into Czechoslovakia or printed using samizdat methods. [Ibid.,p. 1025.] All unofficial attempts to increase the supply of religious materials are illegal. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1025.] A penal code article dealing with profiteering has been used to punish those distributing religious material. [Briefing: Czechoslovakia,

p. 8.] The state has implied that such material has been sold for personal gain. [Ibid.] In September 1979, for example, large quantities of religious literature and printing equipment were seized from Catholic priests and laity throughout the country. [Briefing: Czechoslovakia, p. 8.] Others involved in the printing and distribution of religious literature have been charged with "subversive activities". ["Dissident Condamné" in Le Devoir (18 June, 1988), p. ????] Amnesty International reports that in the case of Michal Mrtvy, a Catholic layman, the duplication of 250 copies of a religious tract led to the charge of "preparation to incitement" under Article 100 of the penal code. [Amnesty International, "Europe", International Report - 1987, (London, 1988), p. 287.]

In the area of education, religious instruction in the home is banned, but it is provided at state schools only if permission if first sought by the parents from local authorities. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1024.] Such requests induce warnings on behalf of school authorities that participation in religious classes could be damaging to a child's education and career prospects. [Ibid.] The children of practising Christians are frequently refused admission to institutions of higher education. [Briefing: Czechoslovakia,

p. 15.] Once admitted to religious instruction, the children= face pressure from teachers who themselves are under pressure to reduce the number of children receiving religious instruction. [Freedom at Issue, p. 17.]

Since Scientific Atheism is the official religion, those practising Catholics who have an official position can face disadvantages. This situation is common to all Eastern European states and is based on Lenin's statement that "under no circumstances can we consider religion to be a private matter with regard to our own party", and his demand that the revolutionary elite, the Communist Party, must work to instill an atheist and scientific world-view among the working class. [Gerhard Simon, "The Catholic Church and the Communist State", in Bohdam Bociurkiw and John Strond, eds., Religion and Atheism in the USSR and Eastern Europe (London: Macmillan Press, 1975),

p. 193.] As the previous paragraph illustrates, it is difficult for a Christian to remain a teacher. [Ibid.] Also, the US Department of State Country Report for Czechoslovakia mentions that policemen, Communist Party officials, and members of certain other professions encounter problems in their careers if they are seen in church. [Ibid.; see also the testimony of Olga S. Hruby, Religious Persecution Behind the Iron Curtain: Hearing, 99th Congress, 1st Session, 1985 (Washington: Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 1986), p. 121.]

Reports further indicate that no new churches have been approved for construction, even though some Protestant churches have been built. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1025.] Furthermore, there are only two out of a prewar total of thirteen seminaries still operating in Czechoslovakia. [Ibid.] Entrance to the seminary is based on a quota system and it is claimed that pressure is exerted upon the Church's selection process to limit the quality of novices. [Freedom at Issue, p. 16.] Furthermore, there are increased reports of pressure being applied by state security agents upon those seeking admission to the seminaries. Once the training is completed, the State must vet each priest's assignment. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1025.] These factors, and the revocation of licenses, has apparently contributed to a shortage of priests at the parish level. It is estimated that over 1000 of the 4000 parishes in Czechoslovakia have no priest. [Freedom at Issue, p. 16.] Although all male and most female orders have been dissolved, some reportedly operate clandestinely. [Ibid.] And although the remaining female orders have recently been permitted to admit a limited number of new members, [Ibid.] Roman Catholic nuns are not permitted to work in hospitals or attend nursing schools, a role they have traditionally played in Czechoslovakian society. [Intolerance and Discrimination on Grounds of Religion or Belief, p. 4.]

Pressures for increased religious freedom have been growing recently. In March, 1988 a demonstration to this effect was broken up by riot police using water cannons. It is reported that hundreds of Roman Catholics were arrested and beaten. ["Czechoslovak Police Disperse Catholics at a Rally" in The New York Times (29 March 1988).] Growing discontent with the government's refusal to allow Vatican sanctioned candidates to fill ten vacant bishopric posts led to the circulation of a 31-point petition. ["Czech rally presses call for freedom of RC church" in The Globe and Mail ( 17 March 1988).] With over 300,000 signatures it represents the largest such action in Eastern Europe since 1945. [Ibid.] The petition called for, inter alia, more bishops, more priests, the separation of church and state, and the right to question Marxist dogma. [Ibid.]