That Which Is Caesar's

When the Roman Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia finally bowed to state control (TIME, Nov. 14), the Czech Episcopate managed to make one modest reservation: it inserted a clause in the loyalty oath to the government, which all priests would henceforth have to take, implying that they would not follow orders "contrary to the laws of God or human rights."

Last week, Interior Minister Vaclav Nosek flatly declared that the reservation in the loyalty oath was unacceptable. He announced furthermore that, beginning next year, church marriages will have no legal standing in Czechoslovakia; only civil marriage will be officially recognized. The new marriage decree also abolishes the posting of marriage banns. Nosek justified the decree by citing the case of a priest who had refused to marry a couple because they were Communists. Said Nosek: "Of course, he was arrested."

-Civil marriage is required in many other countries on either side of the Iron Curtain, e.g., France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Poland, Yugoslavia.

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