Vatican Renews Full Diplomatic Relations With Czechoslovakia

The Vatican restored full diplomatic relations with Czechoslovakia on Thursday on the eve of a weekend visit there by a Pope journeying to celebrate new freedom for a Czechoslovak church that he has long supported in adversity.

As Archbishop of Krakow in Poland, Karol Wojtyla took a special interest in the fate of a church systematically suppressed for four decades by a Communist government in Prague. Now, as Pope John Paul II, he will make a bellwether address in Prague on Saturday that is expected to outline papal hopes for the development of aspiring young democracies throughout Eastern Europe.

Many of East Europe’s new leaders, including Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel, cite John Paul’s unyielding appeals for human rights as a major catalyst of democratic change in the region. The Pope argues that religious freedom is the most basic right and calls for a common European homeland united by common Christian principles.

Simultaneous announcements here and in Prague on Thursday said that diplomatic ties will be resumed at full ambassadorial level but did not name the envoys to be exchanged. A Vatican statement hailed the end of “a sad parenthesis of these last 40 years” when relations were poor or nonexistent.

As recently as a year ago, John Paul was deploring the “sad state” of the church under a government--led by Prime Minister Milos Jakes--that repressed religious rights and restricted religious instruction.

The Vatican’s last envoy to Prague, by then only a figurehead, was given 72 hours to pack his bags in 1950. In the intervening years, Czechoslovak governments refused to allow the Vatican to fill the posts of bishops who died. At one point in 1989, 10 of 13 Czech bishoprics were vacant. Appointment of new bishops has become routine since Czechoslovakia began its transition toward democracy last fall.

Thursday’s addition of Czechoslovakia to the Vatican’s diplomatic list marked another milestone in the extension of the Holy See’s links--and influence--with countries in which the church was once a principal government target.

Over the last few months, ties have been resumed with the Soviet Union, Hungary and Poland, and renewed relations also seem in prospect with Romania, where the Vatican named 12 new bishops last month, restoring the church hierarchy there to pre-World War II levels.