Memorandum on transfer of buildings at Prague Castle to Church signed

Czech President Miloš Zeman and Prague Archbishop Dominik Duka on Thursday signed a memorandum on the transfer of two buildings at Prague Castle to the Catholic Church. The Church has received the Saint George’s Convent and the Mocker Houses on condition that it will renovate them within five years and drop its claims to other buildings at Prague Castle. The move has been criticised by Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, who said the memorandum was anti-constitutional and unlawful and violated democratic principles. Under the 2012 church restitution law, the country’s churches will receive 75 billion crowns in assets confiscated by the communist regime and get 59 billion crowns worth of compensation money for the rest.