In an interview for today’s edition of the daily Glas Javnosti, Naumov stressed that the Ministry helps all churches and religious communities according to the number of their believers, which means that all Serbian Orthodox Church seminaries are receiving assistance, as well as the Catholic grammar school and Moslem seminaries. He added that the Ministry also subsidises the salaries of teachers in secondary theological schools and provides around 900 scholarships for theology students in Serbia and abroad.
The Serbian government’s official web site gives excerpts of this interview.
What has the Ministry of Religion achieved since you took the helm?
During the 2002 census, more than 90% of citizens stated they belonged to a particular church or religious community, which is why it is very important for the country to have a satisfactory relation with these churches and communities. Two years ago, we adopted the law which annulled the legal void that came about following World War II, and thus regulated the legal position of churches and religious communities in line with European standards guaranteed by the Serbian Constitution. After this government was formed, we had to keep improving the conditions for a reaffirmation of all aspects of religious life.
What are your future plans?
I will strive to improve good relations with other churches and religious communities. As of this year, the work of the Ministry of Religion is based on a programme budget. The Ministry’s programmes aim at advancing the cooperation with churches and religious communities, improving the state of religious schools and providing help to all churches and religious communities.
How does the Ministry spend the funds it receives from the budget?
It uses them to implement the projects I mentioned. The majority of the funds will be used to help the clergy and the monks in Kosovo-Metohija, educate secondary school and university students, help the clergy and the monks in border and underdeveloped areas, as well as to construct and reconstruct churches and religious objects. A portion of the funds will be used to improve the religious culture, religious freedoms and tolerance, as well as to protect the religious, cultural and national identity.
At the meeting of tourist associations in Ohrid, Albanians once again tried to present Serbia’s most sacred facilities and sites as their own monuments:
That was a blunt provocation and an anticipated manipulation by the Albanian movement that wants to erase all Serbian traces in Kosovo-Metohija. Our cultural and historical heritage is indelible evidence that we belong to Europe. It is the treasure of our civilisation which puts us in line with the old European peoples. No one can protect it better than Serbia. However, it is not only cultural monuments that are endangered there, but also human lives, and all along this is happening before the very eyes of the entire world. It is our obligation to do all we can to preserve the Serbian spiritual and national being in Kosovo-Metohija.