The relations between the Czech Republic and the Vatican remain to be burdened by the fact that nearly 20 years after renewing diplomatic relations the two countries have not yet ratified the treaty on their relations. The treaty that concerns also the position of the Catholic church in the Czech Republic was signed in July 2002 by then papal nuncio Josef Erwin Ender and Czech foreign minister Cyril Svoboda, current leader of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL).
But the lower house of Czech parliament rejected the treaty in May 2003.
Shortly ahead the expected replacement of Prague archbishop, who is retiring, the Czech Republic continues to be one of the few European countries that are without a treaty with the Vatican.
The issue is likely to be discussed during the forthcoming talks Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer will have in the Vatican on November 13-14.
Czech and Vatican representatives met frequently this year in connection with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Czech Republic in late September.
The first Czech politician to officially visit the Vatican this year was then justice minister Jiri Pospisil (Civic Democrats, ODS) in January. Former foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg met Vatican top representatives, including the Pope, in April.
In May, Czech President Vaclav Klaus met Benedict XVI and he also discussed the unratified treaty with Vatican State Secretary Tarcisio Bertone.
Klaus was originally among those who criticised the treaty and he even declared that he would not sign the version that had been agreed on. However, shortly before his re-election as president in early 2008 Klaus admitted that he would not veto the treaty.
However, Klaus said the treaty needs to win significant support in the lower house, which considers its original text too accommodating towards the Catholic church. The changes to the agreed version, promoted by the parliament, have been rejected by Prague Archbishop Miloslav Vlk as well as Vatican representatives.
Vlk also criticised Czech politicians for not reaching agreement on the property settlement between the Czech state and the churches.
The representatives of the Vatican and the Czech Catholic church said during the pope's visit that the state-church settlement was not a priority due to the economic crisis, yet the issue remains controversial and unresolved.
The government wants to return about one-third of the churches' property that was nationalised after the 1948 Czechoslovak communist coup. Instead of the remaining property, the churches are to receive 83 billion crowns during the next 60 years, or approximately 270 billion crowns with interests.
The current problems with the ratification of the treaty are not an exception in the relations of the two countries.
Czechoslovakia, established in 1918, agreed on a brief agreement with the Vatican only in 1928 that was never replaced by a standard treaty.
Though the diplomatic relations were established in 1920, only a charge d'affaires represented the Vatican in Prague from 1933 to 1939 when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany.
In 1950, the communist regime expelled the papal nuncio from the country and it severed diplomatic relations with the Vatican when show trials with top church representatives started.
The diplomatic relations were restored on April 19, 1990 - only two days before the first papal visit to Czechoslovakia. Pope John Paul II visited the Czech Republic two more times, in 1995 and 1997.
Former president Vaclav Havel met John Paul II three times - in 1994, 1999 and 2002. Current president Vaclav Klaus met the pope already in 1996 when he was Czech prime minister.
Four years ago, Klaus attended the funeral of John Paul II and the inauguration of his successor, Benedict XVI.
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