NEWS

Prime Minister Borut Pahor meets Evangelical Bishop Geza Erniša

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Borut Pahor, today held a meeting with representatives of the Evangelical Church in Slovenia. The guests informed Mr Pahor of the activities of the Evangelical Church in Slovenia and of certain unresolved issues, which, according to Bishop Geza Erniša, are of relatively minor importance. Bishop Erniša also stressed that today’s meeting demonstrated that the state and the Evangelical Church are time and again able to find common ground and engage in frank, open-minded and constructive dialogue.

 

(FOTO: Bor Slana/BOBO)

 

With today’s meeting, a series of initial talks with representatives of religious communities in the Republic of Slovenia is drawing to a close. The Prime Minister emphasised that the talks held between the Government and religious communities in the past, and the arrangements made on those occasions, demonstrated the Government’s aim to create a tolerant and development-oriented social atmosphere. “Taking into account the principle of separation of state and church, the Government will make every effort to ensure that practical problems are solved to the greatest possible extent, and that confidence in the relations between religious communities and the state is strengthened, which is of paramount importance in times of economic and financial uncertainty,” he stressed.

 

With dialogue of this kind, and its general approach, the Slovenian Government aims to create an atmosphere in which every citizen of Slovenia feels that the right to religious expression is not undermined in any way. In this spirit, the Government will consistently respect the principle of separation of state and church, and will strive to pursue exemplary co-operation with religious communities. The Prime Minister said that the Government would also meet representatives of smaller religious communities, should they express an interest in this.