Prague, Czech Republic - The Chamber of Deputies outvoted the Senate's veto and passed again an amendment to the church law regulating the registration of charities and diaconates with the votes of the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the Communists (KSCM).
Critics say that the bill was at variance with the rights given to the churches by the constitution. The amendment may be passed to the Constitutional Court. It is yet to be reviewed by President Vaclav Klaus.
The chairman of the Christian Democrat (KDU-CSL) deputies' group Jaromir Talir said that the party's senators were ready to submit the constitutional complaint.
The dispute focuses on the question of whether the legislation limits religious freedom and whether it infringes upon the churches' right to establish spiritual and other institutions such as charities, schools and health facilities according to their own rules.
The bill, passed by the Chamber of Deputies again, was criticised by Zdenek Barta (KDU-CSL) in the Senate in August. He said that this was an anti-constitutional law reducing the churches' rights. Christian Democrat senator Jiri Stodulka said at that time that the amendment encroaches upon the churches' right to establish their institutions independently from the state.
Stodulka said that it allowed the Culture Ministry to cancel the registration of an ecclesiastic legal entity.
The amendment was pushed through by late culture minister Pavel Dostal (Social Democrats, CSSD). He said that the legislation did not limit any religious freedoms. Dostal said that there were 26 registered churches in the Czech Republic. "There is chiefly a conflict with the Catholic church, from the beginning," Dostal said.
The amendment only stipulated that churches "had to act according to the Czech Republic's legal order" and the establishment of ecclesiastical legal entities should proceed along the legal order.
The amendment received 101, Social Democrat and Communist, votes, in the 200-member Chamber of Deputies.
The legislation was opposed by the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union.