Professor Tomáš Halík receives Templeton Prize












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            On 14 May, priest of the academic parish and professor of the CU Faculty of Arts Tomáš Hal

            the prestigious Templeton Prize, which is awarded for exceptional contributions to the dev
            spiritual dimension of life.
            The ceremony, held in the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, was also

            Rector of Charles University, Professor Tomáš Zima, Czech Minister for Culture Daniel Herm
            Dominik Duka and Miloslav Vlk.
            In his speech to the 600 guests present Halík, who is the rector of the university Church 

            Saviour, addressed general questions of faith, the necessity for religious dialogue and cu
            problems.



            Amongst others, he also reacted to the recent declaration by British Prime Minister David 

            Britain was Christian country that should be more Christian. According to Halík such decla
            like the declaration that ‘Europe is a Christian continent’, posed the question of how rel
            primarily, which type of Christianity – can change the globalisation process into a cultur

            Halík’s opinion, such a culture must have deeper foundations than the current multicultura
            on tolerance, where people live beside one another, but not together.
            In his appearance, the 44th Templeton laureate also focused on the current political situa

            against the dangers of not only Russian nationalism and ‘imperial dreams’, but also of cur
            in Europe.
            “If the dangerous temptation of national selfishness and isolationism were to triumph in E

            to the tragic collapse of the European Union, the nation states of Europe would not acquir
            sovereignty, but instead would be exposed far more to the forces of chaos and destruction 
            said Halík.

            Professor Halík shall use the financial endowment from the prize, amounting to GBP 1.1 mil
            initiatives associated with dialogue between believers and atheists.

                                                                                                      
            Prof. PhDr. Tomáš Halík, Th.D. [ URL "http://halik.cz/en/"] , works at the CU Faculty of A
            Christian Academy and rector of the Church of the Holy Saviour. Since 1 October 2004 he ha
                                                                                                      
                                                                                                      
            The Templeton Prize [ URL "http://www.templetonprize.org"] is named after investor and mil
            prize is awarded by the British Academy in London and is unofficially known as the Nobel P