Greece turns down a bill on the separation of the Church from the State

The Greek Church News Agency reports that on 15 March 2006 the parliamentary commission on education turned down a bill of the separation of the Church from the State proposed by the Communist Party of Greece and some independent deputies.

The Socialist Party (PASOK) that has earlier promised to bring the proposal for consideration by the parliament, did not support it this time and spoke in favour of public dialogue thus raising many questions about its real intentions.

The Greek minister of education and religion of Greece Ms. M. Yannaku again pointed at the different functions of the Church and the State and said that her ministry had met all wishes concerning the definition of church-society relations. At the same time she spoke against canceling the teaching of religion in schools.