Cardinal Duka Dies at 82 - Known for Dubia on Amoris Laetitia
Born on 26 April 1943 in Hradec Králové, he secretly joined the Dominican Order in 1968 and was ordained as a priest two years later.
The communist regime forced him to work as a draughtsman at the Škoda factory in Pilsen for 15 years but he kept serving as a priest in secret.
From 1986 to 1998, he led the Dominican province of Bohemia and Moravia.
In 1998, John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Hradec Králové, and in February 2010, Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Prague (Emeritus since 2022).
In July 2017, Cardinal Duka published a statement saying that the Czech Republic 'cannot accept migrants unless they respect its system of values'. He added that Muslims could only be a safe minority if they accounted for around five percent of society.
In April 2018, he made the following comments about homosexuals: "Since I do not think people with this sexual orientation are discriminated against in our country, it is not right for us to advocate things which are in direct conflict with the Catholic Church’s teachings."
In July 2023, Cardinal Duka submitted ten questions (Dubia) to Pope Francis about the interpretation of Amoris Laetitia, particularly concerning the reception of the Eucharist by adulterers.
Picture: Dominik Duka © Petr Šálek , wikipedia, CC BY-SA, #newsSuinranplu