Evening star., 1949-10-21
Czech Bishops Exhort
Priests 10 Turn Down
Reds Pay Raise Offer
BY the Associoted Press

fohAo ASSAAAetAA SoOAASAAS SAoAAoPc
declared today the Communist
government had turned the coun-
try into a suffering nation"
The bishops called on Catholic
priests to share the suffering of
these hardest times" Particu-
larly. the church leaders said,
priests should reject the wage in
creases offered to the clergy under
the governments new laws con-
trolling the church.
Government wage increases
should be rejected, the bishops
said in secretly circulated letter,
especially "at this time when tens
Of thousands of our believers and
other citizens are abducted from
their homes and hundreds of
thousands suffer. in prisons and
labor camps"
Message Sent to 1000.
The bishops delivered the mes
sage to the Nations 1000 priests
through the clandestine courier
system set up after the suppress
sion of the Catholic press. The
church and the government have
acknowledged that some priests
and laymen have been jailed for
participating in this underground
communication channel.
The bishops bitterly condemned
two laws for control of the
churches enacted last Friday by
the Communist-controlled Czecho-
slovak Parliament. The bishops
said these laws aimed at the
total subjugation" of the
churches and the liquidation" of
the dominant Catholic church.
This stand of the church au-
thorities was taken at a secret
meeting of bishops or their depu-
ties held in Prague last week
three days before the church bills
were passed by Parliament.
Their decision was made known
through the meager channels still
remaining open to them following
the' suppression of the church
press, the banning of pastoral let
ters and conflscation of machin-
cry on which printed statements
can be produced.
Clergy Civil Servants.
The laws which the bishops
condemned as anti-church pro-
vide:
l. Clergy of all churches be-
come civil servants paid by the
State. All church appointments, |
financial and administrative af-
fairs closed under State control.
2. The establishment of a new
cabinet ministry empowered to
rule on church matters.
The law on state support for
churches offers salary increases
to the clergy, which has. been
a big government talking point.
However. it also requires that in
order to get his pay clergyman
must swear allegiance to the Com
munist-controlled peoples demo-
cratic government"
The bishops opinion, as re-
ported by church sources. was that !
the majority of priests supported
them in opposition to these gov
lernment measures. They took the
stand that no priest could accept !
them without his bishops ap-
Iprova1 or he would "betray the
church"
Laws Forced Upon" Church.
The bishops stand was reported |
to be that the laws were forced
upon" the churches without con-
!sulting them.
The bishops asserted. church |
sources said. that where pressure
or trickery was used to obtain a
priests consent he should publicly
recant before his congregation.
About the matter of swearing !
loyalty to the Communist led |
government as well as the repub-
lie. priests were told they must |
obtain the permission of their
bishops before taking any pre-
scribed oath. The Vatican al
ready had broadcast orders that
Czech priests should pledge
loyalty only to the Czechoslovak
republic and the welfare of its
people.
The priests were remined of
an exhortation given them previ-
ously by Archbishop Josef Beran !
of Prague, the nations primate.
This was that they did not be-
come clergmen to become wealthy
but to serve souls and ensure
the eternal salvation
The bishops called on the
priests to remember this in this
critical hour and not despoil your
honor by forgetting that you are
priests and not hired workers"
Prepared 5000, 900 Meals
Mrs. Joan Underwood. retiring
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