Czech-Vatican treaty to be signed on Thursday

The Vatican‘s Secretary of State Pietro Parolin will sign a treaty between the Czech Republic and the Vatican together with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in Prague on Thursday. The two officials will later meet to discuss mutual relations, the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and issues relating to freedom of religion in the world.

Czech President Petr Pavel will also receive the Vatican’s secretary of state at Prague Castle. The Czech Republic is one of the last European countries to sign a treaty regulating relations with the Vatican. According to Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, the treaty does not address the state's property relations with the Catholic Church. It protects citizens' freedom of religion and legally anchors, for example, clerical services in social and health care institutions or in prisons and the army.