Halík denies being barred by Church from standing for president

The priest and theologian Tomáš Halík has denied he is being barred by the Czech Roman Catholic Church from standing in the next election for president in 2018. Mr. Halík said he believed that a comment by President Miloš Zeman on Tuesday that the church would stop a priest running was a reference to him, telling the Czech News Agency he regarded this as attack on his person. The priest said Mr. Zeman’s words were timed to coincide with his receiving an honorary doctorate at Oxford University. He is only the fourth Czech to be so honoured.

Author: Ian Willoughby