SaS Criticises Catholic Church Over its Silence on Penal Code Changes

Bratislava, February 12 (TASR) - The Catholic Church's silence regarding the Penal Code bill is incomprehensible, opposition's liberal SaS party stated on Monday, and added that it expects Catholic bishops to make a statement on the approved changes. Back on February 1, the Slovak Episcopal Conference (KBS) issued a statement, in which it urged Slovakia not to lose its vision of being a country where "hatred, malice, corruption and injustice won't have any place". SaS added that Catholic bishops regularly comment on issues of the day, yet haven't done so in case of the Penal Code amendment. "When it comes to the dismantling of the rule of law, radical reductions in sentencing for corruption or shorter statutes of limitations on rapes, they've stayed absurdly silent," said SaS vice-chair Branislav Groehling. MP Jana Bitto Ciganikova (SaS) added that the Catholic Church should take a stand on behalf of believers, who might become radically harmed by the new Penal Code. "And not just them, but every single citizen of Slovakia," she claimed and pointed out that Lutherans have already made a statement on the bill. The Penal Code bill was approved by Parliament on Thursday (February 8). On Friday (February 9), bishops of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia voiced their "grave concerns" over the passing of the amendment. "We harbour concerns for fundamentals of the rule of law and principled democratic values that are based on responsibility and not political caprice," declared the bishops, who find amending the Penal Code in favour of personal or partisanship interests unacceptable. They called the scrapping of the Special Prosecutor's Office, shortening of statutes of limitations, sterner rules for cooperating defendants, lower sentencing for corruption and property-related crimes a moral destabilisation of society. mf