Family from Trnava deserves a deep apology

Church and State silently tolerate the separation of Roma children from the majority in schools and churches.

(Source: AP/TASR)

Jarmila Lajčáková is an analyst with the Centre for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture (CVEK)

In Trnava's Roman-Catholic basilica, organisers of the first communion celebration refused an 11-year-old Roma girl a seat next to the other children. She was supposed to sit separately because the parents of non-Roma children complained.

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When the media reported on the case, provoking a public outcry, and when Trnava Regional Governor Jozef Viskupič demanded amends, the parish gave in to the pressure.

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Unfortunately, this is no isolated case. The largest religious organisations have quit uniting communities and accepted ethnic divisions in Slovakia. Separate first communion celebrations for Roma and non-Roma kids, on different days or in different buildings, are a rule rather than an exception in parts of Slovakia where larger numbers of Roma live.

Another trend sees separate chapels and churches directly in settlements, instead of common religious services. A smaller eastern-Slovak village might thus have a priest offering spiritual services exclusively to non-Roma, and a separate pastoral centre for Roma, within the same denomination.

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