Bratislava, Slovakia - THE DEBATE currently underway on the separation of church and state could lead to action on this issue in the next several years, said Deputy PM for Human Rights and Minorities Dušan Čaplovič on August 12.
"If the mood in society is favourable, we could take such a step by the end of this electoral term [2006-2010]," Čaplovič told the TASR news wire.
According to the deputy PM, neither Christian Democratic politicians nor the Roman Catholic Church in Slovakia have rejected the separation of church and state. At the moment, Slovakia’s churches are supported annually by billions of crowns in public money.
"It’s not possible to carry out such a step immediately, as the church itself is offering various proposals that need to be studied carefully," Čaplovič said.