Code of the Vicar. What is the Church not telling us about its business?

The diocese of České Budějovice decided to do business in banking. However, the emergence of the “first Catholic bank” in the Czech Republic is covered in secrets, and some parishioners in České Budějovice have already had enough of it.

Within the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishopric of České Budějovice is one of those organizations which, after the church property restitution, prove that they want and can take care of their property. In the city of České Budějovice, a grandiose repair of the Dominican monastery worth CZK 150 million is just about to be finished. A complete reconstruction of the famous Stations of the Cross in Římov, reconstruction of the church in Kájov and of the monastery in Třeboň are all under preparation. The effort of the Church to restore the cultural heritage is visible at first glimpse, at least in South Bohemia.

Recently, without drawing much attention, a piece of news was reported by the media, the content of which is a lot different than the news on investment "whirlwind" of the diocese. The Bishopric of České Budějovice officially announced on its website on October 9 that it enters the world of finance. Through the majority shareholder Artesa Capital, it now holds 9.5 percent of the shares in Artesa, the largest credit union (ie. financial cooperative) in the Czech Republic. Moreover, the bishopric declared that it wants to gradually increase its share in order to gain a majority in the financial cooperative. "The aim is to strengthen the capital and operational stability of the credit union with the possibility of further development of business activities," the bishopric wrote. At the same time, it announced that it plans to establish a third branch office of the credit union in České Budějovice soon.

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