The Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro announced today that they are ready to discuss the Law on Freedom of Religion, but in a way that will fully respect both parties in the dialogue.
"If the Montenegrin authorities believe that they can independently impose topics and solutions, as they did before and do today, calling for a dialogue only on the application of the Law - we will rightly consider that it is a matter of faking a call for dialogue, which will be the responsibility of the Government The Orthodox Church is interested in Montenegro having the best possible law in its legal system that governs issues of religious freedom and the legal position of religious communities," states the announcement of the Episcopal Council of the SPC in Montenegro, which "held an expanded session today in Nikšić, which was also attended by members of the legal team for drafting the initiative for the evaluation of the constitutionality of the discriminatory Law on Freedom of Religion".
The announcement states that it was established that the text of the initiative was brought to the final stage after serious consultations with the widest circle of legal experts.
"The adoption of other legal measures that would prevent and eliminate the harmful consequences of this law, not only for the Church, but for the entire Montenegrin society, was also considered. The Episcopal Council also got acquainted with the legal activities that the Patriarchate and the Holy Synod of our local Church have undertaken so far in order to due to the great interest of the public regarding the reasons why the initiative has not yet been submitted to the Constitutional Court by the Church, we are free to inform the public that in accordance with the provisions of Article 36 Item 3 of the Law on the Constitutional Court, that judicial body can himself to initiate the process of evaluating the constitutionality of legal acts, especially bearing in mind a number of obviously unconstitutional provisions of this law, and above all, those concerning the historically acquired legal subjectivity of churches and religious communities and the inviolability of their property rights. As announced, the initiative will be submitted as soon as possible". writes in the announcement of the Episcopal Council of the SPC in Montenegro.
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They said they were sorry for, as they said, the gross manipulations presented in the media by the highest state officials these days, rejecting any accusation that any political or ideological interests of any kind are hidden behind the activities of the church.
"On this occasion, we will not respond to their allegations, in which there were a number of historical and factual inaccuracies about the Church in Montenegro. With full responsibility, we inform the public that the media reports about ongoing discussions between the Church and the Montenegrin authorities regarding the Law are untrue. which, in his interview this morning, was unequivocally denied by Prime Minister Marković himself, saying that the call for dialogue to the Church has yet to be sent by the Government. Even those conversations, which the public has already been informed about, and which took place before the passing of the Law, were not were institutional, inclusive and true dialogue," said the Episcopal Council of the SPC in Montenegro.
They also said that "with gratitude to all Orthodox believers and other citizens of Montenegro and beyond, who are gathering in unprecedented numbers on the streets of their cities, and on this occasion they are sending a clear message that prayers and liturgies are not, as is wrongly claimed, even from the highest state addresses , directed against the state of Montenegro".
"It's just the opposite - we do everything for its progress. Our prayers are only against lawlessness. The less lawlessness, the better our country will be, and the future of all its citizens more certain and brighter. Trusting in God's justice, but also in human responsibility, both those in power and all the citizens of Montenegro, we call for the multiplication of love, peace and harmony, which will overcome all fratricidal hatred and intolerance", concludes the announcement of the Episcopal Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.
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