Czech philosopher and Catholic priest Tomáš Halík will be presented an award for Europe’s best theological book prize for 2009-10 next week at an international congress of theologians in Vienna, the Czech news agency ČTK reported Friday. It is the first time the award has gone to a writer from Eastern Europe.
Halík, who served as an advisor to former president Václav Havel, will be honored for his book “Patience with God” (Vzdáleným nablízku: vášeň a trpělivost v setkání víry s nevírou), which was named book of the month last year by the U.S. Catholic Book Club and has been translated into English, Polish and German.
A central message of “Patience with God,” which examines the relationship between religion, belief and spirituality in culture and current society, is that having patience is in part what sets apart believers from atheists — of which the famously secular Czech Republic has its share — according to the introduction to the book:
“Tomáš Halík teaches that God requires us to persevere with our doubts, carry them in our hearts, and allow them to lead us to maturity. For Halík, patience is the main difference between faith and atheism. Faith, hope, and love are three aspects of patience in the face of God’s silence, which is interpreted as ‘the death of God’ by atheists and is not taken seriously enough by fundamentalists.”
“Using the gospel story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus, Halík issues an invitation to all people who stand (like Zacchaeus did) on the sideline — curious but noncommittal. The fact that Jesus gravitated to the poor and the marginalized means that he also has a special place in his heart for diligent seekers on the margins of the community of believers.”
Halík will receive the prize during the 2011 congress of the European Society of Catholic Theology, taking place in Vienna from August 25 to August 28. The theme of the congress is “Exploring the boundaries of bodiliness. Theological and interdisciplinary approaches to the human condition.”
Halík told ČTK that a copy of “Patience with God” will be handed to Pope Benedict XVI in a traditional meeting with theology professors in the Pope’s summer seat in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. In 1992, Pope John Paul II had appointed Halík an advisor to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers and in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI granted him the title of Monsignor - Honorary Prelate of His Holiness.
Tomáš Halík
Tomáš Halík, 63, worked as a psychotherapist during the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia while at the same time was secretly ordained as a Catholic priest in Erfurt in 1978 and active in the “underground church.” He had gaduated in sociology, philosophy and psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University in Prague (Ph.D. 1972) but was banned from teaching at university and persecuted by the secret police as “an enemy of the regime.”
He worked as a psychotherapist for drug addicts, completing a post-graduate course in clinical psychology in 1984, when he became a licensed psychotherapeutical practitioner. Following the so-called Velvet Revolution in 1989, he served as General Secretary to the Czech Conference of Bishops and was an advisor to the country’s first post-Communist president, Václav Havel.
After 1989, Halík undertook a course of post-graduate study at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, obtaining a licentiate in theology (Th.Lic.). In autumn 1992 he took higher doctorates at Charles University in Prague (sociology) and at the Pontifical Theological Faculty in Wroclaw (ThDr. hab.).
He is currently a professor of philosophy and sociology at Charles University. His books, many of which are bestsellers in the Czech Republic, have received several literary prizes.
