Czech priest wins 2014 Templeton Prize

Mgr Halik with Dr John Templeton

A courageous Czech priest and philosopher has won the 2014 Templeton Prize.

Monsignor Professor Tomáš Halik is the 44th recipient of the £1.1 million prize, awarded annually to an individual who, “through insight, discovery or practical work” has helped affirm life’s spiritual dimension.

A champion of dialogue between the Church and those of all faiths or none, Mgr Halik co-ordinated an illegal network championing spiritual and intellectual freedom in Communist Czechoslovakia.

He was condemned in 1972 as “an enemy” of the Communist regime and forbidden to teach at any university or state institution. Working as a psychologist and sociologist at a government institute, he trained in secrecy for the priesthood, and was ordained clandestinely in East Germany in 1978. Even his mother did not know of his ordination.

Running the risk of imprisonment, he then built up and organised a top secret “underground university” composed of students, philosophers, teachers and theologians fighting for spiritual freedom, and creating the intellectual foundations for a future democratic state. Their aim? In Mgr Halik’s words to “create a moral and spiritual biosphere for freedom.”

At the same time, Halik had a crucial role establishing the “underground Church” and helped Cardinal František Tomásek of Prague, write pastoral letters for the laity and letters to the Communist government. Later, Halik was a key advisor to Václav Havel, the first post-Communist leader of Czechoslovakia (President of Czechoslovakia: 1989-1992, President of the Czech Republic 1993-2003). He also advised Pope John Paul II for his 1990 visit to the country and the Pope appointed Halik an advisor to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with non-believers.

English writers, such as GK Chesterton, Graham Greene and Cardinal Newman had a decisive impact on Halik’s conversion to Catholicism. “Ever since my first steps along the path to Christian faith I have been profoundly influenced by the distinguished tradition of English Christianity from the medieval mystics to the thinkers and novelists of the 20th century. The works of Chesterton and Graham Greene demonstrated to me the paradoxical aspect of Christianity,” he said at a ceremony held today in the British Academy, London, to announce the prize winner.

Now Mgr Halik, 65, teaches sociology of religion at Charles University, Prague and is famed for advocating dialogue between the Church and non-believers, and people of other faiths. He suggests that the long intellectual tradition of Catholicism makes it ideally placed to serve as a bridge between faith, Western secularism, traditional religions and Islamic culture.

He plans to use the £1.1 million proceeds of the Templeton prize to further this pursuit. He said today: “When St Augustine was asked which three paths led most surely to God, he replied “the first is humility, the second is humility and the third is humility.”

“Becoming a Templeton Prize winner is a great test of humility.”

The prize is offered for those termed “entrepreneurs of the spirit” by Sir John Templeton, (1912-2008) the founder of the Prize. Speaking at the ceremony to announce the winner, Dr John Templeton, son of Sir John, explained: “Sir John’s vision for the Prize has always fostered a pursuit of discovery – most especially the seeking of new insights into the limitless potentials in the realm of the spirit. The essence of this vision is what Sir John summarized as ‘Spiritual Progress... It is hoped that all religions will embrace both Sir John’s vision – and also our foundation’s motto: “How little we know, how eager to learn.”’

He said Mgr Halik shared his father’s vision for “spiritual progress” through his rigorous “intellectual investigations of mind and spirit. He has worked tirelessly to explore innovative ways to think about and convey timeless Truths to others.”

There are five videos on the Templeton Prize website at www.templetonprize.org in which Msgr Halik explores topics such as whether global evil proves there is no God, and whether God is an answer or a question.”

Speaking to Independent Catholic News, Msgr Halik said: “Reason and faith need each other, faith and doubt need each other. Faith without doubt could lead to fundamentalism, and doubt not able to doubt itself could lead to cynicism. Both extremes are dangerous. This is a dialogue inside the head and heart of every human being and it is very important to accept these open questions.

He added: “Science sometimes looks at resolving problems, religion is concerned with mystery. Mystery is bottomless and invites us to go deeper.”

He appealed for a dialogue between “dwellers” who believe and belong to a Church, and “seekers” who are spiritual, but not attached to a particular faith or church community.

“Many of those who “wrestle with God” are probably closer to god than many conventional and conformist believers. For anyone who reads the Bible it doesn’t come as a surprise that God loves those who wrestle with him.”

“Thanks to Cardinal Newman I came to realise that tradition is a dynamic process of constant reinterpretation of the treasure of the faith.”

He added that as a “churchman and academic” he felt “close affinity” to Cardinal Newman and felt today’s church “ought to be inspired by the idea of a medieval university.”

Today’s ceremony was introduced by the BBC broadcaster, Edward Stourton and attended by the Czech ambassador to the UK, Michael Žantovský, who has been since childhood a friend of Msgr Halik’s.

In 2010, Msgr Halik was named “Man of Reconciliation” by the Polish Council of Christians and Jews. His books in English include Patience with God (Doubleday New York London 2009) and Night of the Confessor (Doubleday London New York 2012). He will be given the award at an official ceremony in May.

The Templeton Prize

The Templeton prize was established in 1972 by Sir John Templeton (1912-2008), a global investor and philanthropist. One of the largest global annual awards for an individual, it is offered to a “living person who has made an exceptional contribution” to “affirming life’s breadth of spiritual dimensions, whether through insight, discovery or practical works.”

The £1.1 million prize is a sum of money chosen to exceed Nobel prize money. It is one of the largest global prizes to be given annually to an individual. This was a decision by Sir John Templeton to highlight his belief that advances in spirituality are no less important than those in other fields of human progress.

Past winners include: Mother Teresa (1973), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (2013) and the 14th Dalai Lama (2012).

 For more information see: www.templetonprize.org.