Tomáš Halík

Tomáš Halík (born June 1, 1948 in Prague) is a Czech public intellectual, Roman Catholic priest, and scholar.

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Biography

He studied sociology and philosophy in Prague and in Bangor, UK. During Communist rule, he was banned from teaching and worked in various occupations, e.g. as a psychotherapist for drug addicts and alcoholics. He studied theology clandestinely in Prague and in 1978 he was secretly ordained as a Catholic priest in Germany. Before 1989 he was active in the so-called "underground church" and, in the 1980s, he was a close associate of Cardinal František Tomášek.

He often publicly discusses ethical issues, such as: racism, political and religious intolerance, the process of secularisation, as well as the process of European expansion and integration. As a visiting fellow, he held lectureships at both Oxford University and the Cambridge University. He was one of the external advisors of former Czech president Václav Havel.

Tomáš Halík is a member of numerous scientific societies, including the European Society for Catholic Theology, the International Society for the Psychology of Religion , Washington-based Czechoslovak Society for Science and the Arts etc.[1] 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.[2]

Publications

References

  1. ^ Tomáš Halík's biography. Retrieved 6 October 2011
  2. ^ http://m.ceskapozice.cz/en/news/society/czech-philosopher-halik-wins-%E2%80%98best-theological-book%E2%80%99-prize

External links