THE LIBERAL ruling coalition party New Citizen's Alliance (ANO) has asked churches registered in Slovakia to prepare public inventories of property they own.
ANO MP Eva Černá said her party wanted to know what property the churches own so there could be a more accurate assessment of how much money they should receive.
Currently the Slovak state pays churches a total of Sk870 million (€22.4 million) per year, according to the Pravda daily.
Analysts suspect, however, that the ANO is using the issue to start an electoral debate on the separation of church and state. The ANO denies this, saying that it just wants to know what property the churches own.
"We are convinced that the churches have nothing to hide and that it is better for them to be transparent as regards their property and financing," said Černá.
21. Feb 2005 at 0:00 | From press reports
