Churches resolutely reject the newly amended law on the status of religious societies, writes Cardinal Miloslav Vlk in Mladá fronta Dnes June 24. The amendment, which is to regulate churches in establishing charities and educational and medical facilities, grossly restricts religious freedom. Culture Minister Pavel Dostál's claim that the bill was drafted at the churches' request is a lie. The law violates churches' constitutional freedom to "administer their own affairs, in particular appoint their organs and their priests, and establish religious orders and other church institutions, independently of organs of the state." The deputies who passed the amendment probably don't care they are suppressing democracy. The indifference of remaining deputies meant that groups hostile to churches were able to push the law through Parliament. The left, which robbed the church of its freedom 50 years ago, joined forces and the vote in Parliament ought to jolt the conscience of all citizens who value freedom. History shows the church will survive even these assaults on its freedom, concludes Vlk.

The spectacular escape of entrepreneur Radovan Krejčíř from police custody ultimately led to the downfall of police President Jiří Kolář, writes Patricie Polanská in the June 23 edition of Hospodářské noviny. Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek was outspoken in his assessment of the police mishap in the house of a person suspected of planning murder and tax fraud: It was either a colossal police failure or a case of police corruption. Paroubek added a resolute demand that those responsible be quickly punished. Interior Minister František Bublan duly accepted Kolář's resignation and recalled the director and deputy director of the police anti-corruption unit, along with 10 other officers. One must wonder whether Bublan would have taken these measures without the prime minister's intervention, considering how staunchly he defended Kolář initially. The recent escape was not the first such scandal, but Kolář survived other cases of sloppy police work or police overstepping citizens' liberty and privacy, as in the case of recurring wiretapping. Hopefully, Kolář's departure will herald the end of an era characterized by undue benevolence toward police blunders, concludes Polanská.