Evening star., 1949-09-12
Czech Bishops Offer
Terms for Continuing
State Negotiations
By the Associofed Press

PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia, Sept.
u. - Czechoslovakia's Roman
Catholic bishops have offered to
negotiate anew with the Commu-
mist government on a. church
state accord-but only if all pres
ent restrictions against religious
freedom are removed, it was dis
closed today.
The offer was made in memo
randum adopted by the council OF
bishops in a meeting August IA
at Trnava, Slovakia, and recently
submitted to the government.
Copies were released to the West
ern press today and the memo
randum was broadcast by the
Vatican radio.
The new development came as
church authorities charged the
government with new restrictions
against bishops and priests. The
authorities said priests who have
been fined by the government have
been forbidden to disclose this in
formation to their congregations.
Church sources, meanwhile,
accused the government of i'm
posing increased restrictions on
bishops and priests to hinder
their work and break their loyalty
to the Czech hierarchy and the
Vatican.
The most Rev. Josef Matocha,
Archbishop of Olomouc, was re-
ported by these sources as re-
stricted by police under the guise
of security measures for bis own
safety"
Archbishop Alomouc ranks next
in the Catholic hierarchy of
Czechoslovakia to Archbishop Josef
Beran, who has reported him.
self a virtual prisoner in his own
residence. Archbishop Matocha
also has been reported under
house arrest for the past two
months.
The sources reported a guard of
secret police has been thrown
about Archbishop Matocha's pal
ace. Each visitor is required toI
show a pass and pass through
close inspection and the arch
bishop himself is required to have
policemen with him in his auto
mobile whenever he travels in his
archdiocese, the informants added.
The complaints came after a
week end in which leading gov
ernment and Communist Party
officials had issued new warn
ings and threats against what
they termed the "dissident" Cath
olic hierarchy.
To Get Desserts of DissidentS."
These spokesmen, led by Red
Premier Antonin Zapotocky. ac-
cused Catholic leaders of trying
to overthrow the government,
divide the country and provoke
a religious war. They threatened
that church leaders held respon-
sible would receive the desserts
of dissidents who attempt to dis
turb u.s.
Church authorities said that in
Olomouc diocese the salaries of
more than go priests were sus-
pended for reading pastoral let
ters "or because they were re-
garded as insufflciently devoted
to the peoples democratic gov
ernment."
Pastoral letters have been
banned by the Ministry of Edu-
cation unless submitted in ad-
vance for approval.
These reports said other priests
who either, refused or delayed
paying fines for reading pastoral
letters were having their automo-
biles or other means of transport
confiscated.
Police Orders Produced.
Church sources, meanwhile,
produced an order bearing the
name of police official in the
district of Gottwaldov saying:
Some Roman Catholic priests
have been given penalties accord
ing to laws, namely monetary fines
for offenses which they committed
in carrying out their functions.
1T has been ascertained that
some of these priests made public
these penalties by announcements
in their church services with the
intention Cd of provoking among
the faithful unwarranted SYM
pathy and CD instigating an un-
friendly atmosphere against these
measures of the officials. Such
publication of criminal findings