Bishops of the Czech Republic met in Prague

On 21st–22nd January 2014, the 96th Plenary Meeting of the Czech Bishops’ Conference took place in Prague. Working sessions of bishops and representatives of religious orders in the Czech Republic were preceded by an ecumenical meeting and a remembrance for Jan Palach, a student who set himself on fire on 16th January 1969 to protest against the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Prague: During the meeting, details of an upcoming travel of bishops to Rome on the occasion of their “Ad Limina Apostolorum” visit (11th–17th February) were discussed. Members of the Czech Bishops’ Conference were also informed about the current situation concerning the Property Settlement Act. Bishops initiated an information campaign for all dioceses of the Czech Republic with the aim to introduce this law to the members of parish economical councils and other parishioners. At the same time, bishops expressed their readiness to receive part of the financial compensation for the property that cannot be returned in a form of government bonds.

Archbishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc, delegate of the Czech Bishops’ Conference for charity, expressed his thanks to all volunteers and organizers of this year’s Three Kings Money Collection and acknowledged its preliminary proceeds; the event is supposed to be even more successful than it was last year.

Participants of the plenary meeting also discussed the preparation of events to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family, proclaimed by the United Nations. The Catholic Church will contribute to the celebrations with several activities that shall stress the importance of the family in the Church. Materials for these events will be prepared soon and the celebrations will culminate in the National Pilgrimage of Families to be held on 30th August in Žďár nad Sázavou.

Bishops also recommended signing an agreement that would aim at establishing a spiritual service at the Václav Havel Airport in Prague. The service will be available for passengers as well as employees of various airlines.

During the second day of the plenary, Jindřich Šrajer from the Faculty of Theology in České Budějovice introduced his working group for the social doctrine of the Church. This expert group deals with various aspects of the social doctrine and its application to the problems of our times.

An ecumenical meeting that preceded the plenary meeting on Monday, 20th January, took place at the St. Adalbert Church in Prague-Dejvice. It was presided over by Cardinal Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague; Daniel Fajfr, president of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic, delivered a homily.

Next plenary of the Czech Bishops’ Conference will take place in Olomouc on 6th–7th May 2014.