Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Czech High Court OKs Govt. Plan to Pay Churches; Will Get $3B Over 30 Yrs. for Communist Seizures

The Czech Republic's highest court yesterday upheld a government plan to pay billions of dollars to religious groups in compensation for property the country's former Communist regime seized from them, the Newsmax World website reports today (June 4, 2013).

The Constitutional Court rejected an appeal by the republic's left-wing opposition, and chief Judge Pavel Rychetsky said his ruling yesterday is now final.

Under the plan, 16 churches will get 59 billion koruna ($3billion) in financial compensation over the next 30 years. They will also receive 56 percent of their former property now held by the state -- estimated at 75 billion koruna ($3.8 billion).

The plan is highly controversial in the Czech Republic -- a country with one of Europe's highest concentration of atheists. About 60 percent of the people in the Czech Republic are atheists.

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