Czechs propose $4.6 bln church restitution deal

                                
 By Pavel Mahdal
                                
 PRAGUE, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The Czech government proposed to
pay 83 billion crowns ($4.64 billion) in damages to churches on
Wednesday for property confiscated by the country's former
communist rulers.
                                
 The proposal, based on a deal between the state and 17
churches, should finally put an end to church restitution claims
and solve a row that has dragged on since the fall of communism
in the 1989 "Velvet Revolution".
                                
 "This will compensate for some property misdeeds,
(returning) property that was basically stolen by the Communists
under the previous regime," Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said.
                                
 The payout would constitute two thirds of an overall
package, with the rest comprised by the return of some land
nationalised by the Communists.
                                
 The Czech Republic is one of the most atheist nations in
Europe. Among active religions there, the Roman Catholic church
is by far the biggest, followed by protestant denominations.
                                
 The proposal, which must be enshrined in a draft law and
approved by parliament, calls for the sum to be paid over 60
years, with 4.9 percent interest. It will gradually end state
subsidies to churches that go mainly toward priests' salaries.
                                
 The 83 billion crowns in damages is for two thirds of the
land the churches claim for restitution but have agreed to give
up for the compensation. A spokesman for the Prague Archdiocese
church said it was happy with the proposal.
                                
 The communists, who ruled in then Czechoslovakia from 1948
until 1989, confiscated most private property from churches,
businesses and individuals and closed a number of monasteries.
 Many priests and monks emigrated or were jailed, and a
number of churches and monasteries were abandoned or served as
army barracks and storage space.
                                
 The proposed payout is equal to about 2.4 percent of Czech
annual gross domestic product -- all goods and services produced
there -- and is bigger than last year's government budget
deficit of 1.9 percent.
                                
 The package was agreed by ministers from all three parties
in the centre-right coalition cabinet, but it may face a bumpy
ride in parliament, where the government has just 100 of the 200
seats.
                                
 Several back-benchers from the main government party, the
Civic Democrats, have questioned the overall sum to be paid out.
 (Writing by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Michael Winfrey)