Darko Pavičić, journalist
We were talking with Professor Savić, associate professor at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, who teaches Legal Theory and Religion, Legal Systems of the Middle East and North Africa, Human Rights and Croatian Society, and Religious Freedoms. We discussed the issue of erasing data of ‘former’ believers form the Church books and records. His research on this topic had been conducted within the framework of the project of Central European Academy from the University of Miskolc, involving other colleagues from Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Serbia and is connected with the right of privacy, and family and religious life.
Public data stay protected
We live in very complex times in which, on many levels, there are different worldviews on how to live personal and public life, personally and as a community. I do not have a problem with the fact that different groups have different opinions and that they express their views, but the question is how they do that. We have to resist the views that religiosity does not have its public value and benefit for the society, says Professor Savić. He also adds that it should be accepted that all members of society have their own space. The fact that there are people who do not believe in, dislike or even hate the Church, cannot be a reason for everybody else to accept their solutions to remove religiosity from society and public sphere.
Everybody has the right to act within common society, for which it is necessary to find proper ways of communication. It is often heard from the critics of the Church and public religious activities that Church should stay away from the public. Professor Savić, on contrary, believes that Church has to be active within the society as an important social component because it has the right to be there, as any other public organization fighting for its interests. Church has its own interests, and yes, it can and should fight for them. Those interests arose in the first place form the Christian anthropology, which wants all people to be saved. It may sound unusual to many – since we all live in the world of conformity and materialistic logic, says professor Savić who is as a lawyer specialized in the theory of law and state, law and religion, but mostly law and ecumenism, and religious freedom.
Professor Savić says that all this is very simple in its essence, and that after many hard hours of work, most issues they have examine and did research on look clear and understandable. For instance, GDPR, a European directive on protection of personal data guarantees so-called right to be forgotten. In the sphere of religious communities it would mean that the former believer or someone who is disappointed in the Church may request form his/her parish priest to be erased from the books of baptisms. Apart from the fact that the Canon Law does not allow that (in the Canon Law, unum baptisatim, semper baptisatum, exists), it is also not possible according to the public law regulations of the Croatian Legal System. The only option which is allowed is an annotation that the person has left the Church, but that does not mean erasure of baptism – which is a sacrament, clarifies Dr Savić. He furthermore adds that this is not allowed according to privacy law regulations protecting public documents which are necessary for other sacraments like weddings.
We do know that in Croatia, religious marriage ceremony is equal to that one which is performed in public office of the state. Church books are also historical books, and in many times in history reconstruction of historical facts was only possible by using church books and records. However, he adds, disappointed believers request the removal of their names from the books.
You cannot erase the fact that you are married in the Church. Taking all considerations into account and with deep understanding for all unsolved marital situations without blaming anyone, the fact that marriage is conducted cannot be erased. It would be as if someone comes to the state registry to request erasure of his/her name or the fact of birth. You may be unhappy with your name, but the documents showing the fact of your birth and receiving your name cannot be erased. This is public data. In fact, GDPR and EU rules on privacy have been created in the first place to protect citizens from the influence of companies and business entities who use citizens’ names and data for their business purposes. Personal data is a great value, and there isn’t any doubt about that, underlines firmly Professor Savić. He also explains that Croatia has signed four agreements with the Holy See, and according to those treaties many agreements with other religious communities have been signed as well.
In a similar way rights of other religious communities have been regulated, and all of them have the right to operate freely – religious freedoms are protected by the Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights, to which Croatia is a party. There isn’t private and individual religious freedom without the freedom of the religious community (organization) to work and perform their duties and businesses freely.
When we discuss privacy of religious communities, one of the examples is confession. The state respects the secrecy of confession as it respects attorney and physician secret (privilege). The problem arises when someone tries to jeopardize those privileges, but this is another big and important topic, says Professor Savić. He also states that a person does not have to be religious to understand the importance of religiosity as a social phenomenon.
If a child sings in the church choir, there are less chances that he/she will buy drugs on the streets. If monasteries’ kitchens cook for the homeless, if nuns help in hospitals, the state will have direct benefit form that. Not to mention the social cohesion and harmonization which religious comminutes give to society as a whole. Religious communities have their own place in society, and they deserve trust. Of course, those communities have to act in accordance with the public morals and the public order, and if not, security and safety would have a priority over religious activities and rights. In conclusion, religious communities who cooperate with the state and respect public order are important feature of society and therefore deserve special protection from the state, underlines Professor Savić.
