Working group on promotion of activity of religious organizations insists on making alterations to religious law with agreement of Council of Churches

Under the chairmanship of a Ukrainian deputy, member of the Collegium of the Christian Democratic Union, Volodymyr Marushchenko, the first session of a working group on the promotion of activity of religious organizations was held. The group is composed of members of the Secretariat of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO) and Ukrainian deputies, members of the group of deputies “Right of Choice,” reports the Institute of Religious Freedom. 

The working group was established according to the resolution made during a meeting of the “Right of Choice” with the AUCCRO  on April 6, 2011, to facilitate the resolution of urgent issues concerning the activity of religious organizations.

At the session, Marushchenko informed the participants of the steps taken by the group after the meeting of April 6, in particular an address to the president of Ukraine about the extension of the powers of the Ministry of Culture in the area of church-state relations and taking steps to preserve and duly ensure the activity of religious departments on matters of nationalities and religions in order to pursue a unified state policy in the respective areas, an address to the Ukrainian prime minister about the resumption of activity of the Committee for Ensuring the Rights of Religious Organizations of the Cabinet of Ministers, an address to the head of the Supreme Council about the importance of preserving the National Expert Committee of Ukraine on the Protection of Public Morality and preparing a draft Resolution of the Supreme Council of Ukraine on holding parliamentary hearing “State and Prospects of Development of Church-State Relations in Ukraine” next autumn.

The participants exchanged ideas as to drawing the plan of activity of the working group. In particular, they stressed that it is important to make alterations to the current law on the freedom of worship and religious organizations only on condition that such alterations are agreed upon with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations and that it is necessary to ensure legislatively the restitution of former church property to the churches and religious organizations. The members of the group also passed a resolution to concentrate their activity also on questions of taxation of nonprofit organizations.