BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th December, 2019) Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic on Saturday signed into law a bill that will enable the government to nationalize certain religious properties despite strong resistance of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) and its fellows in Montenegro as well as the country's opposition, Montenegrin state media reported.
The bill was proposed by the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro and adopted by the parliament on Friday notwithstanding harsh resistance of opposition lawmakers. Under the new legislation, religious institutions would have to prove ownership of their properties from before 1918, when Montenegro lost independence and eventually became part of what was to become Yugoslavia.
According to the Montenegrin national broadcaster, Djukanovic signed the bill on the evening of Saturday.
In Montenegro, where population is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian, the Serbian Orthodox Church is the canonical � or recognized � church. It now fears that the government will use the law to weaken the SOC's influence by giving its property to the noncanonical Montenegrin Orthodox Church, while also promoting the country's pivot away from Serbia.
The opposition Democratic Front party has pledged to pressure the government into withdrawing the controversial law. One of the party leaders, Milan Knezevic, went as far as to suggest using supernatural means to make Djukanovic revoke his decision.
"If the president signs the shameful law on religious entities, I propose cursing himself and his progeny. I am rightful to demand it on behalf of all who were affected and took to the streets to protest," Knezevic said in a video broadcast on Facebook.
�The law has already triggered protests in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica and other cities across the country which reportedly are continuing to intensify.
For years, Montenegro, as the Diocese of Montenegro and the Littoral, has been a part of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In recent years, however, the government has intensified its support of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which proclaimed autocephaly in 1993, accusing the SOC of undermining the country's sovereignty.
