At least coffee #79, or Restitution or fraud

At least coffee 79, or Restitution or fraud?
Another case has emerged in which the church is trying to dispose of property that allegedly belonged to it, for which it received subsidies, and which it was unable to take care of. I pointed out similar situations back in 2012 in articles on my first blog. For example, in the first article from the end of August 2012
https://poznamkypanabavora.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/cirkevni-restituce/, I pointed out the need for supervision of churches. I wrote the following: The state should only supervise the property so that in a few years the churches will not have anything and will again reach out to the state.
In neighboring countries, and even in pre-war Czechoslovakia, there was a church fund, which was actually established by Emperor Joseph II. It was based on a situation where property donated to the church by anyone was still subject to the supervision of the donor. Emperor Joseph II then amended these provisions so that the state supervised the property of the church. And this was not without purpose. On the contrary, this measure was intended to ensure that church institutions did not squander their property, but used it only for its intended purpose, i.e., for their activities. The fund is headed by representatives of the churches, and the state exercises only the same supervision over the fund as the National Bank does over commercial banks. The same fund existed in the former Czechoslovakia, later renamed the Religious Fund. The Religious Fund eventually donated all its property to the state. Whether this procedure was justified or not is a matter for legal assessment. But de facto and de jure, the state is actually the only legitimate owner of church property.
In my reflections at the time on the senselessness of restitution, I based my opinion not only on this fact, but also on the fact that churches have never been self-sufficient. Even in times when they enjoyed the greatest wealth of their entire existence, they had to be constantly gifted by someone. Since the churches' finances have never been self-sufficient, there is a risk that this will not change in the future.
See the article https://poznamkypanabavora.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/cirkevni-restituce-3/
Joseph II further tightened state supervision of the church. He was guided by the reasoning that the vast majority of the church's property had been acquired from gifts from previous rulers, and therefore introduced a provision into state law that church estates had never ceased to be state estates. He left church authorities only with the management of their economic operations under state supervision.
As is well known, the law on church restitutions was passed under strange circumstances. At that time, MP Rath was detained and unable to participate in the vote. And because well-known rebels, bribed with other positions, left parliament, they were replaced by Radim Pekárek, who had been convicted but not yet sentenced, and who was "resigned" shortly after the bill was passed.
Well, the result is coming. The following article from Týdeník Strakonicko shows one example. And because it concerns the former property of the Bavor family, it also concerns me personally to some extent:

Christopher:
Radomyšl refused to take over the church and pond from the church, it only wants to negotiate about the rectory
RADOMYŠL. The town of Radomyšl offered the Diocese of České Budějovice a large set of properties free of charge: both local churches, the parish grounds, and also the Vražda pond.
According to the bishopric, the reason for this is a lack of funds for their maintenance and the belief that municipalities are better able to obtain subsidies for the preservation of cultural heritage nowadays.
However, the representatives of Radomyšl rejected the gift. According to Mayor Luboš Peterka, the takeover would require investments in the tens of millions of crowns, which the town cannot afford. Since 1997, Radomyšl has spent more than CZK 21 million on the restoration of church property alone. In addition, the town would take over property from the church that has been neglected for years, and Radomyšl could run into problems with resolving certain issues.
In the minutes of the municipal council meeting, the municipality calculates how much it has invested in church property. This includes 600,000 crowns for the reconstruction of St. John's Church, one million crowns for the building that houses the fire station, three million crowns for the command center, and ten million crowns for the reconstruction of St. Martin's Church. Radomyšl spent another three and a half million crowns on road repairs in Hájek, two million went to donations to the parish, and one million went to cemetery maintenance, including repairs to the cemetery walls during the years when it was still owned by the parish.
Mayor Luboš Peterka told the editorial office that Radomyšl has a real interest in the parish grounds, and the council reaffirmed this interest at its last meeting on August 28. The town already uses the parish as a museum and fire station. In the future, it plans to expand the fire station, provide facilities for associations, and convert the garden into a public park. Radomyšl therefore asked the diocese for a free transfer of the rectory in view of the support it has provided to church property to date.
However, the bishopric's response was negative. "The rectory and adjacent land have real value and may generate rental income in the future, which can be used for necessary church repairs. Therefore, it cannot be transferred free of charge," the official statement reads.
Mayor Peterka warned that the church's uncompromising stance could lead to the sale of the rectory to another interested party. At their meeting on August 26, the councilors therefore authorized the mayor to begin negotiations with the bishopric on the possible purchase of the property. All nine councilors present voted in favor of the proposal.

So here is another result of the economic management of both the church and, above all, the governments led by the ODS.