The Sme daily wrote that Prime Minister Robert Fico has proposed to the Slovak Roman Catholic Church to celebrate the holiday of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, the patron-saint of Slovakia, on Sunday if the holiday, on September 15, falls on a workday. Fico and the government are trying to find a way to eliminate several state holidays on workdays without angering the Holy See.
The prime minister told Sme that making this change would not require opening and amending the treaty with the Vatican – in which Slovakia pledged to observe ten religious holidays as state holidays. Bratislava Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský announced that the church has to discuss the proposal with its experts.
Fico also proposes to abolish Constitution Day, celebrated on September 1, and make it a normal workday. The prime minister will also advance a proposal under which employees would have a free Friday if a holiday falls on workdays from Monday to Thursday.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
