A secular state must break up monopolies

The ruling is a success for fundamental and human rights,” said Helmut Fink, Deputy President of the HVD, on Saturday. A ruling by the Federal Labor Court on September 8, 2011 (2 AZR 543710) regarding the dismissal of a head physician by a hospital run by the Catholic Church was welcomed by the association’s presidium. The Federal Labor Court had ruled that the dismissal of a Catholic head physician after remarrying was socially unjustified. “A special duty of loyalty to tendentious organizations must remain legitimate in principle,” said Fink about the ruling. “It is in the nature of an ideological claim that in core areas of an activity – for example in the area close to preaching – one must not act directly against the identity of the organization. However, churches and other ideological associations that operate in the secular state and in modern society should not be able to overstretch this loyalty,” Fink continues. The right of employers to claim a duty of loyalty must neither lead to them interfering in the private lives of their employees nor result in the undermining of general employment law. A clear separation between the role as an employee and the role as a private person in a society based on the constitution must be accepted by all. Fink pointed out that in a free society, the rules of general competition should be able to apply in the event of attempts to the contrary. Employers who are or become unattractive to employees due to a moral attitude towards core areas of private life should have to reckon with the loss of their employees. “This is about freedom and self-determination on both sides. For this to work in the labor market, however, there must be a sufficient number of alternatives.” The secular state therefore has a responsibility to break up the de facto monopoly positions of the Catholic Church in areas of the labor market, explained Fink. Instead of the former principle of “Cuius regio, eius religio”, the principle of “religio sive humanitas” must prevail today – in order to guarantee a decision for humanity in case of doubt. Finally, Helmut Fink emphasized that the association is also seeking cooperation with reform-oriented alliances within the Catholic Church on this important topic.