Tomáš Halík (; born 1 June 1948) is a Czech

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest, philosopher, and theologian. He is a professor of

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

at the

Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

, pastor of the Academic Parish by St. Salvator Church in Prague, and president of the Czech Christian Academy. Since

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, Halík has lectured at universities and international scientific conferences in Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Southern Africa. He was also a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He is an author of several books on the matter of religion and spirituality and a recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the

Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...

Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was a German Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the 20th century. Life and work Guardini was born in Verona, I ...

Prize and an honorary degree from Oxford University. In 2008,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

granted him the title of Monsignor

Honorary Prelate of His Holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing. As an active member of religious and cultural dissent during Communist era, Halík was appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

as an advisor to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers in 1992. In the Saint Salvator Church in Prague, he often holds joint prayers and meditations with members of other religions such as Jews, Buddhists, and Muslims. Due to his views on the other religions, on women's ordination, on anti-abortion legislation, his support for registered partnerships (but not

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

), and his stance on

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

, he has received both praise and criticism.

Biography

Communist era

Halík converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

at 18 years old, due to the influence of writers like G. K. Chesterton and

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

. He studied Sociology and Philosophy at Charles University, in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, then

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, where he was a student of

Jan Patočka Jan Patočka (; 1 June 1907 – 13 March 1977) was a Czech philosopher. Having studied in Prague, Paris, Berlin, and Freiburg, he was one of the last pupils of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. In Freiburg he also developed a lifelong philos ...

. He moved briefly abroad to study English at the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

, in Bangor, where he was surprised by the Soviet-led invasion of his country, meant to crush the Prague Spring, in August 1968. He returned to Prague, where he graduated in 1972. He did a speech at his doctoral graduation ceremony that was deemed subversive by the Communist regime, which banned him from teaching or holding any academic position. He then worked as a psychotherapist, from 1972 to 1975. He held the chair of Psychology of Work for the Institute of the Ministry of Labour, from 1975 to 1984. Meanwhile, Halík clandestinely studied Theology in Prague, and on 21 August 1978, was secretly ordained as a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. He studied and received a post degree in Psychology from the Institute of Medicine in Prague in 1984. He worked as a psychotherapist for drug addicts and alcoholics at the clinic for cure of addictions of the Charles University, in Prague, from 1984 to 1990. In the 1980s he was active in the "underground church" and was a close associate of Cardinal František Tomášek, before the fall of communism in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

in 1989.

Democratic regime

After the "Velvet Revolution", which meant the triumph of democracy in his country, he was one of the external advisers of Czech president

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

appointed him as an adviser to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers in 1992. He licenciated in Theology at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pont ...

, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, in 1992. The same year he took a higher doctorate in Sociology from Charles University and ThDr.hab. in theology at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Halík joined the Sociology Faculty at his alma-mater in 1993 and became a professor in 1997. He is also the head of the Religious Studies Department. As a visiting fellow, he held lectureships at both

and

, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Hálik is the rector of the Church of the Holy Saviour, in Prague, since 1990, and co-founder and longtime President of the Czech Christian Academy.

nominated him monsignor, as an honorary prelate of the pope, in 2008. He often publicly discusses ethical issues, such as racism, political and religious intolerance, the process of

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

, as well as the process of European expansion and integration. Tomáš Halík is a member of several scientific societies, including the European Society for Catholic Theology, the International Society for the Psychology of Religion, and Washington-based Czechoslovak Society for Science and the Arts. In 2010, his book ''Patience with God'' (''Vzdáleným nablízku: vášeň a trpělivost v setkání víry s nevírou'') was named book of the month by the '' U.S. Catholic'' Book Club and was awarded Europe's best theological book prize. Halík has publicly speculated a run for the Czech presidency. In 2015,

Zdeněk Škromach Zdeněk Škromach (born 31 December 1956) is a Czech politician, who served as the vice-president of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic The Senate (), literally "Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic", is the upper ...

announced he would run, to which Halík had said the year earlier that, if there were no candidates worthy, naming Škromach as one such candidate, he would have a moral obligation to run. However, in early 2016, he stated that he believed the office of president no longer appealed to him, as "it is the time for demagogues" such as the current Czech President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. He also did not believe he had high chances of succeeding in the 2018 race, as he would have only won "the voices of the sane and educated", believing that he would need to go against his moral compass and campaign on a populist and controversial platform.

Controversial views

Halík holds some controversial, even dissident views, that are at odds with the official stances of the Catholic Church. He supports women's ordination, claiming that the fact that Jesus didn't call them to be His Apostles doesn't disallows that possibility. He has criticized the Church's stance on homosexuality, stating that people with same-sex attraction shouldn't have to be feel compelled necessarily to live in chastity. He also has criticized anti-abortion legislation, specially in Eastern Europe, claiming that the near-total ban on

abortion in Poland Abortion in Poland is legal only in cases when the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act or when the Maternal health, woman's life or health is in danger. The last change in the Act on Pregnancy Planning of the Republic of Poland took place on ...

would "encourage ‘abortion tourism’ of Polish women to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, contributing very little to the protection of the unborn and failing to actually stop the evil of abortion."

Honors, awards and prizes

Tomáš Halík has received many distinguished awards for his merits in inter-religious dialogue, his scholarly and pedagogical activity, his promotion of spiritual freedom and human rights, and for literature, including: * 1997: The prize of the Masaryk Academy of Arts for creative activity (Prague) * 2002: The Andrew Elias Human Tolerance Award for outstanding services in disseminating the values of tolerance and spiritual and intellectual freedom (USA) * 2003: The Cardinal König Merit Award for defence of human rights and spiritual freedom, Austria (Laudator: Václav Havel, President of the Czech Republic) * 2006: The Literary Award of the Czech Literary Fund for the book ''Night of the Confessor'' * 2007: The Fenix Prize of Polish Booksellers for the best book by a foreign author, for the ''Both Called and Not Called'' book (Poland) * 2007: The Prize of the Czech Society for Science and Art for his literary, scholarly and pedagogical activity * 2010: The Romano Guardini Prize for outstanding merits in interpreting contemporary society, Germany (Laudator: Karel Schwarzenberg, Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic) * 2010: The Golden St. Adalbert medal for extraordinarily efficient explanation of religion to fellow citizens, Prague (Laudator: Cardinal Dominik Duka, archbishop of Prague) * 2010: Medal for outstanding services to inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue (Islamic society Mosaika-Platform, Prague) * 2011: Honorary title "Man of Reconciliation 2010" for outstanding services to dialogue between Christians and Jews (The Polish Council of Christians and Jews, Warsaw) * 2012: The Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by decision of the Polish President * 2014:

* 2016: Honorary degree from University of Oxford

Publications

Books in English * ''Patience with God: The Story of Zacchaeus Continuing in Us''. Doubleday, New York–London-Toronto-Sydney-Auckland, 2009. * ''Night of the Confessor: Christian Faith in an Age of Uncertainty''. Doubleday/Image, New York–London-Toronto-Sydney-Auckland, 2012. * ''I Want You to Be: On the God of Love''. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 2016. * ''From the Underground Church to Freedom''. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 2019. * ''Is God absent? Faith, Atheism, and Our Search for Meaning''. (A.Grün & T.Halík). Paulist Press 2019. Books in Czech * ''O přítomnou církev a společnost'' (For Present Church and Society). Prague: Křesťanská akademie, 1992. (Essays from 1989 to 1991.) * ''Sedm úvah o službě nemocným a trpícím'' (Seven Meditations about Serving the Diseased and Suffering). Brno: Cesta, 1993. * ''Víra a kultura'' (Faith And Culture). Prague: Zvon, 1995. * ''Ptal jsem se cest'' (I Asked The Roads). Prague: Portál, 1997. (Interviews with Jan Jandourek.) * ''Co je bez chvění, není pevné'' (There is No Firmness Without Trembling). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2002. * ''Oslovit Zachea'' (Addressing Zacheus). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2003. * ''Vzýván i nevzýván'' (Both Called And Not Called). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2004. * ''Noc zpovědníka'' (Night of the confessor: Paradoxes of little faith in a post-optimistic era). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2005. (Published in English under the title "Night of the Confessor") * ''Prolínání světů'' (Overlaps of worlds). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2006. * ''Vzdáleným nablízku''. (To the distant ones nearby: Fervour and patience in the encounter of faith and non-belief) Prague: Lidové noviny, 2007. (Published in English under the title "Patience with God") * ''Dotkni se ran'' (Touch the wounds: A spirituality of concern). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2008. * ''Stromu zbývá naděje'' (Hope remains for the tree: The crisis as opportunity). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2009. * ''Divadlo pro anděly'' (A theatre for angels: Life as a religious experiment). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2010. * ''Smířená různost'' (Reconciled difference). Prague: Portál, 2011. (Interviews with Tomasz Dostatni) * ''Úvahy na prahu tisíciletí - Ranní zamyšlení na vlnách BBC'' (Reflections on the eve of the millennium -Morning reflections broadcast by BBC Czech service). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2011. * ''Chci, abys byl'' (I want you to be: Post-religion Christianity). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2012. * ''Žít s tajemstvím'' (Living with mystery). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2013. * ''Žít v dialogu'' (Living in dialogue). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2014. * ''Obnovíš tvář země'' (Texts 1988–1998). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2014. * ''Svět bez Boha'' (A.Grün & T.Halík). Prague: Lidové noviny, 2017. * ''To že byl život?''. Prague: Lidové noviny, 2018. Books in French * ''Patience avec Dieu: l'histoire de Zachée, continue à nous''. CERF Paris 2014 (Patience with God) Books in Italian * ''Mistica, anima della filosofia?'' Fondazione nazionale "Vito Fazio-Allmayer", Palermo 1999 * ''Vicino ai lontani: la pazienza della fede nel dialogo con l'ateismo''. Libreria editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano 2012 (Patience with God) * ''La notte del confessore''. Milano, Figlie di San Paolo 2013 (Night of the confessor) Books in German * ''"Du wirst das Angesicht der erde erneuern": Kirche und Gesellschaft an der Schwelle zur Freiheit''. St.-Benno-Verl., Leipzig 1993 (You shall renew the face of the earth) * ''Geduld mit Gott (Die Geschichte von Zachäeus heute)''. Freiburg: Herder, 2010 (Patience with God) * ''Nachtgedanken eines Beichtvaters''. Herder Verlag, Freiburg-Wien 2012 (Night of the confessor) * ''Berühre die Wunden''. Herder Verlag, Freiburg-Wien 2013 (Touch the wounds) * ''All meine Wege sind DIR vertraut: Von der Untergrundkirche ins Labyrinth der Freiheit'', Freiburg 2014 Books in Spanish * ''Un proyecto de renovación espiritual''. Narcea, Madrid 1996 * ''Paciencia con Dios''. Herder, Barcelona 2014 (Patience with God) * ''Paradojas de la fe en tiempos posoptimistas''. Herder, Barcelona 2016 (Night of the Confessor) * ''¿Deshacerse de Dios? Cuando la fe y la increencia se abrazan''. (& A.Grün) 2018 * ''Quiero que seas: Sobre el Dios del amor''. Herder, Barcelona 2018 Books in Portuguese * ''Paciência com Deus'', 2013 Paulinas Editora, 3.ª edição * ''A Noite do Confessor'', 2014 Paulinas Editora * ''O meu Deus é um Deus ferido'', 2015 Paulinas Editora * ''Quero que Sejas Tu'', 2016 Paulinas Editora * ''O abandono de Deus. Quando a crença e a descrença se abraçam'' (& A.Grün), 2017 Paulinas Editora * ''Diante de ti, os meus caminhos'', 2018, Paulinas Editora Books in Dutch * ''Geduld met God: Twijfel als brug tussen geloven en niet-geloven''. Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, Zoetermeer 2014 * ''De nacht van de biechtvader. Christelijk geloof in een tijd van onzekerheid''. Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, Zoetermeer 2016 * ''Ik wil dat jij bent: over God van liefde''. Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, Zoetermeer 2017 * ''Geloven op de tast. Als geloof en ongeloof elkaar ontmoeten'' (& A.Grün). Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, Zoetermeer 2017 * ''Raak de wonden aan van. Over niet zien en toch geloven''. Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, Zoetermeer 2018 * ''Niet zonder hoop. Religieuze crisis als kans''. KokBoekcentrum 2019 * ''In het geheim geloven. Autobiografie''. KokBoekcentrum 2020

References

External links

Tomáš Halík's homepageTomáš Halik at the Encyclopædia Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halik, Tomas 1948 births Living people Clergy from Prague Czech philosophers 20th-century Czech Roman Catholic priests Czech Roman Catholic theologians Academic staff of Charles University Alumni of Bangor University Charles University alumni Dissident Roman Catholic theologians Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Templeton Prize laureates Knights of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 21st-century Czech Roman Catholic priests