Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek has rejected recent criticism by the Roman Catholic Church officials, who claimed in an open letter that he has not been paying enough attention to occurrences of religious intolerance aimed against the Church.

Hanzek said on Tuesday that, although he firmly supports the reduction of hate speech against all social groups, he is the wrong address for that kind of criticism. The Government Office for Religious Communities should conduct an analysis and propose solutions; the Office has not been doing that, he said.

The Ombudsman pointed out that his primary task is protecting individuals from abuse by state and public institutions, while the Office for Religious Communities is in charge of religion-related issues. Moreover, the Office is much better staffed, he said.

Rejecting the claims of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference that the Ombudsman's office ignores intolerance against the Catholic Church, Hanzek said that he has consistently condemned actions that insult members of other religious groups, including Catholics.

Also, he has addressed a letter to the Ljubljana Archbishop in 2001, expressing a wish to meet and talk about pressing issues, but he is yet to receive a reply. Without communication, it is impossible to deal with issues properly, he added.

Hanzek was also critical of the image that the Church has been promoting in public. It is hard for the Church to present itself as the most marginalised group, when it is the most numerous religious community in the country, has property and economic power and is signing special agreement with the government, Hanzek noted.
Replay from Mr. Matjaž Hanžek to Open Letter from the Justice and Peace Committee at the Slovene Bishops’ Conference (SŠK).