Why Slovak bishops are defending 25-year-old agreement with Holy See

The main opposition party in the Slovak Parliament, Progressive Slovakia, has questioned aspects of the Basic Agreement with the Holy See signed on Nov. 24, 2000. The critique came shortly after the visit of Archbishop Paul Gallagher, secretary for relations with states of the Holy See, to the Central European country to mark the 25th anniversary of the accord.According to the progressives, the state should not have a special contract with one church. They argue that the contract is costly…