The need for a newly-regularized management of churches and congregations
Press Release – April 21, 2009
From May to November 2008, auditors from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) performed an audit of the state budget finances allotted to churches and congregations within the period from 2006 to 2007. Pursuant to the law of securing financial needs of churches and congregations, over CZK 1.1 milliard were allotted from the state budget in 2006 and over CZK 1.2 milliard in 2007 to meet the costs of churches and congregations.
“The Act No. 218/1949 seems archaic and lacks modern terminology. The Act should be linked with the budgetary principles. At this moment, the Act gives no details on conditions of allotting finances from the state budget, and means of endowing the material costs from the state budget are defined rather poorly. The Ministry of Culture released a document entitled “Pravidla poskytování finančních prostředků ze státního rozpočtu církvím a náboženským společnostem” (The rules for assigning the state budget finances to churches and congregations) but this document does not legally bind the churches and congregations at all“, said president of the SAO František Dohnal.
The auditors concluded that the Ministry budgeted for the payments and the insurance administrative as well as for general accounts of churches and congregations and maintenance of the property without calling for source materials from churches and congregations. Throughout the audited period, the Ministry was not exercising control over the benefit recipients although – as a provider of the financial aid – was under obligation to do so.
Among the audited bodies were the Roman Catholic Archiepiscopate of Olomouc, the episcopates of Brno, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, and Litoměřice; the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, the Unity of the Brethren, the Olomouc-Brno Eparchy of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands, and the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic.
The auditing operation was included into the 2008 Audit Plan of the SAO under No. 08/20. Ladislav Zeman, Member of the SAO Board, controlled the operation and prepared the audit conclusion as well.
Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office