News from the Church Law Society

REVIEW 26 3/2003

From the Church Law Society

On Wednesday, October 29, 2003 in the library of St Giles Dominican Monastery in Prague, the 42nd evening was held in the series of Activity of Law in the Church and Society. JUDr. Antonín Procházka from Palackého University, College of Law, Olomouc, emeritus judge of the Constitutional Court of the Cyech Republic in Brno, gave a paper in topic Impact of the Constitutional Court Finding on The Churches Act No. 3/2002 Coll.

On Wednesday, December 10, 2003 on the same place, a festive evening was held, which launched the Memorial of Establishment of the Church Law Society ten years ago. The first paper of Law and So Called Second Scholastics on the Limit of Early Modern Age was presented by the emeritus president of the Society, Prof. JUDr. Valentin Urfus. Followed the paper of JUDr. Cyril Svoboda, Secretary of Exterior of the Czech Republic, as to The Constitutional Treaty of the EU and Christian Values. At the end of the evening the meeting on December 15, 1993 was remembered while we were presenting the Church Law by Doc. JUDr. J. R. Tretera, when the idea of establishing a society spontaneously popped up. Recalling the event was strengthened by presence of both the abovementioned members to the Society, who then, in 1993, were the first ones to give their papers.

Between December 28, 2003 and January 3, 2004 the president and the secretary of the Society partook of the working days of the Ackermann-Gemeinde in the International Center for Spiritual Restoration in Hejnice. On the last day of the year, before the noon, they had a paper on The Union of Brethren from Its Establishment in 1457, Its Transformation in Herrnhut in 1727, to Its Successors at Present.

In reference to the last year’s teachers’ interchange between the Charles University, College of Law in Prague, and the Vienna University, College of Law in Vienna (see p. 276 the Church Law Review No. 23 – 3/02) Doc. JUDr. Jiří R. Tretera had a series of papers in Vienna again, between January 12-16, 2004, this time within the frame of SOCRATES/ERASMUS program. The papers were focused on the following topics: freedom of religion and world view in the Czech Republic, state and churches in the country since the revolution of 1989, comparative of Czech and Austrian state ecclesiastical law in the area of state acknowledgement of religious groups. Annual meeting of the Austrian Society for Church Law was administered by its president, ministerial councilor Dr. Werner Jisa. A very interesting paper was given on state acknowledgement of the New Baptist Church of Mennonites in Halicz during the toleration period, and on its further legal progress, by Prof. Dr. Karl Schwarz.

Congratulations

President emeritus of the Society, Prof. JUDr. Valentin Urfus, on November 22, 2003 had his 75th birthday.

A member to our Society, RNDr. František Skřivánek OMelit, on December 23, 2003 had his 70th birthday.

A member to our Society, JUDr. Milan Závurka, Ph.D., successfully defended his doctor’s dissertation on Acknowledgement of Obligation and Verdict upon Acknowledgement on December 15, 2003 at Charles University, College of Law in Prague.

Decease

We were sorry to receive a message that on October 15, 2003, Mons. ThDr. Antonín Liška CSsR. Deceased in České Budějovice. He was born on September 17, 1924 in Bohumilice, in 1944 entered the Congregation of Redemptorists, in April 1950 along with other ordinaries was drawn to concentration prison. Later on spent 40 months in working prison camps. Priestly ordainment received in secret. Being a biblist, he participated in the ecumenical translation of the Scripture. At the end of totalitarian regime, appointed by Cardinal Tomášek a judicial vicar of the Interdiocesan Court of Prague. In May, 1988, the pope appointed him a titular bishop. After three years of activity as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Prague, in November 1991 accepted the post of the diocesan bishop of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, where he remained until 2002. He was the chair of the Legal Committee of the Czech Bishops’ Conference.

On November 28, 2003 in Grenada in the Caribbean a long-term member to our Society died, P. JUDr. Radomír Bernard Kadlec OP. Born on April 21, 1915 in Prague, on September 27, 1941, entered the Order of Preachers – Dominicans. On June 29, 1947, received priestly ordainment. Graduated from the Charles University, College of Law in Prague. After the Communist tkeover, as being an important worker in the Skaut, he escaped by taking exile with the approval of the superiors. From the UK the English province of the Dominican Order sent him to their vicariate in the Caribbean, where he was active in Georgetown, Grenada for nearly half a century, with a small pause at the end of his life, when he resided in Kingston, Jamaica. For the whole time, however, he remained the member of the Czech province of his order. He visited his motherland after the revolution, twice: we first welcomed him in June of 1990, then again in 2003. He became a member to our Society on January 14, 1995, and was an enthusiastic reader of The Church Law Review.

On January 21, 2004, Prof. ThDr. Jan Milič Lochman, a fan of our Society died in Basel. Born in 1921 in Nové Město nad Metují, surrounded by cordial piety. Soon after graduating from Prague Evangelic College of Theology became a leading representative of theological science in the Czech Lands. Soon obtained a post of professor of systemic (dogmatic) theology, director of evangelic theology seminar in Jircháře in Prague, and vice-dean of the Komenského Evangelic College of Theology in Prague. Being abroad during 1968 he received the news of Soviet occupation of our country. He chose exile. Lectured in theology at famous Basel University, which throughout the centuries gave education to many a Czech theologian, and eventually became its rector. Since 1990 he often returned to Prague, published many a scientific text in Czech, and supported the promotion of Czech college education. In 1998 received the Masaryk’s Medal.

Requiescant in pace!

(jrt/zh)

News from the World

Celebrations of Anniversary of Concluding the Present Italian Concordate

„Inside Villa Madama, 25 years ago, a new treaty between the Church and the Government of Italy was signed, one that significantly changed the previous treaty from the era of Mussolini, which closed the ‘Roman Issue’ in 1929. Cardinal Casaroli and Prime Minister Craxi – two protagonists of the abovementioned event of February 18, 1984 – are both deceased now, yet the echo of their decision and the impact it brought Italian society and its relation to Catholic Church as well as other confessions have been subject to studies and comparatives until today…” these were the words introducing the invitation to conference focused on New Concordate and Church policy in Italy of 1980s, held January 15, 2004 in Roman Palace of San Macuto under the shield of the presidium of the government of the Italian Republic. The meeting was organized by Gino Germani Association, and many a key person and world scene expert in state ecclesiastical law took part in it, as e.g. Achille Cardinal Silvestrini, Prof. Giorgio Feliciani, Prof. Giuseppe Dalla Torre, Prof. Cesare Mirabelli, and Prof. Francesco Margiotta Broglio.

Slovenian Concordate Ratified

January 28, 2004 the Parliament of the Slovenian Republic ratified the international treaty Slovenia had concluded with the Holy See on December 14, 2001. The ratification was preceded by a decision of the Constitutional Court of Slovenia in November 2003, which did not find a sign of a discord with the constitutional order of the Slovenian Republic.

(jrt/zh)