Dominik Duka

Dominik Duka, O.P
Cardinal-Archbishop of Prague
Archdiocese	Prague
See	Prague
Appointed	13 February 2010
Enthroned	10 April 2010 (&100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000328000000328 days)
Predecessor	Miloslav Vlk
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro
Orders
Ordination	22 June 1970 by Štěpán Trochta, S.D.B
Consecration	26 September 1998 by Karel Otčenášek
Created Cardinal	18 February 2012
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	26 April 1943 (1943-04-26) Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Previous post	Bishop of Hradec Králové (1998 - 2010) Apostolic Administrator of Litoměřice (2004 - 2008)
Motto	in spiritu veritatis
Coat of arms

Dominik Jaroslav Duka O.P. (born 26 April 1943, Hradec Králové, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Hradec Králové, Czech Republic) is the 36th Archbishop of Prague since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 13 February 2010. He had previously served as bishop of Hradec Králové. He was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 February 2012.

Duka was born in 1943 in Hradec Králové. On 6 January 1969 he made temporary profession in the Dominican Order and on 22 June 1970 he was ordained a priest. For 5 years he worked in various parishes of the archdiocese of Prague and, on 7 January 1972, he made his solemn profession in the Dominican Order.

Arms of Dominik Duka as Archbishop of Prague

In 1975 he was deprived of the state authorisation for the sacred ministry, and worked for almost 15 years, in the factories of Škoda Plzeň, as a designer (until 1989 and the collapse of Communism behind the Iron Curtain). In the meantime, he worked in secret in the Order as a novice master and teacher of theology. He studied at the Theological Faculty of Litoměřice. In 1979, he obtained a licentiate in theology at the Theological Faculty of St. John the Baptist in Warsaw, Poland. From 1981-82 he was jailed in Plzeň. From 1986-98 he was Provincial of the Dominicans in Bohemia and Moravia.^{[citation needed]}

Arms of Dominik Duka, as Bishop of Hradec Králové

After the fall of communism, Duka was elected Federal President of the Conference of Major Superiors and in the years 1992-1996, Vice-President of the Union of European Conferences of Major Superiors. From 1990-99, he was a lecturer in the Faculty of Theology at the Palacký University in Olomouc, teaching Introduction to Sacred Scripture and biblical anthropology.^{[citation needed]}

On 6 June 1998 he was appointed as bishop of Hradec Králové and on 26 September 1998 he received episcopal ordination. On 13 February 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as archbishop of Prague. On his appointment, Duka said that:

"The Church must engage in a dialogue with society and must seek reconciliation with it. Twenty years ago, we were euphoric about freedom; today we live in an economic and financial crisis, and also to a certain extent in a crisis of values. So the tasks are going to be a little more difficult. But thanks to everything that’s been done, it will not be a journey into the unknown."

Archbishop Duka was formally installed in Prague Cathedral and took possession of the see. Archbishop Duka's concerns include the long-standing issue of the restitution of church property, which had been confiscated by the communist regime, and which were either never fully returned or for which the church was never compensated. The Czech Republic is one of the last countries in Europe not to have ratified a treaty with the Holy See.

In mid January 2012 the Czech government agreed to pay billions of dollars in compensation for property seized by the former Communist to the Church. The compensation plan — to be spread over 30 years — proved a win-win situation: The state no longer wanted to pay the priests' salaries, and religious organisations expressed relief after previous failed attempts. Under the plan, the country's 17 churches, including Catholic and Protestant, would get 56 percent of their former property now held by the state — estimated at 75 billion koruna ($3.7 billion) — and 59 billion koruna ($2.9 billion) in financial compensation paid to them over the next 30 years. The state will also gradually stop covering their expenses over the next 17. In 2008, a similar bill was approved by the government but Parliament rejected it. The agreement alluded Cardinal Vlk during his time in office.

On 6 January it was announced that Archbishop Duka would join 21 other that would be raised to the cardinaliate on 18 February. He was duly created and proclaimed Cardinal-Priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro. Cardinal Duka will retain voting rights in a papal conclave until his 80th birthday.

External links

• Dominik Duka profile at Catholic Hierarchy website

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Karel Otcenášek	Bishop of Hradec Kralove 6 June 1998–13 February 2010	Succeeded by Jan Vokál
Preceded by Miloslav Vlk	Archbishop of Prague 26 April 2010– present	Incumbent