Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka, 82, died in Prague after a brief illness, ending a long career that spanned underground priesthood under communism to leading the Czech Church.
Death and Funeral Arrangements
Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka, 82, died after a brief illness that began with an emergency operation in early October. He was discharged from the hospital on 30 October, but was readmitted on 1 November. The Prague archdiocese announced that his condition had become serious on the following Monday and subsequently reported his death. He was buried on 15 November in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, the customary burial place for Czech primates.
Early Life and Priestly Career
Born 26 April 1943 in Hradec Králové to a family of a Czech army officer, Duka worked for 15 years as a painter at Škoda plants in Plzeň until the Velvet Revolution. In 1968 he joined the underground Dominican Order and was ordained a priest two years later. The communist authorities stripped him of his priestly licence in 1975, forcing him to minister within the underground church. Arrested in 1981, he spent eighteen months in prison, where he shared a cell with Václav Havel. After 1989 he became provincial of Czech Dominicans. In 1998 Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Hradec Králové, and he also served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Litoměřice. Pope Benedict XVI elevated him to Archbishop of Prague in 2010, conferring the dignity of Czech primate. In 2012 he was created a cardinal. At 75, he submitted his resignation, which the pope accepted only in 2022.
Connection to Poland
For decades Duka maintained close ties with Poland. Each year he celebrated Masses for Czechs and Poles at the August festival of St. Wawrzyniec on Śnieżka. He earned a bachelor’s degree in theology in Warsaw and learned Polish by listening to Radio Free Europe and Vatican Radio. In 2012, at the invitation of Kraków Archbishop Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, he chaired a procession to honor St. Stanislaus on Wawel’s Skałka.
Controversial Statements on Rape in Ukraine
In 2022 Duka posted a comment on the internet regarding the rapes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. He stated that “not every rape results in an unwanted pregnancy, i.e. pregnancy caused by that aggression.” He added that he had known many men and women who “attributed” the beginning of their lives to rape. Duka emphasized that rapes should be understood in their complexity and all participants acknowledged. He said the perpetrator, a member of the armed forces, is often also a victim of intense emotions and passion, driven by the horror, fear, and hatred of war to a level of [unknown term]. He claimed that the consequences of such acts should be extracted by army commanders, but “it is not correct to speak only of crimes by Russian soldiers.” He further noted that Russians had repeatedly protected Ukrainians from danger, and that defending oneself against rape is not the only solution – there are many options, but not resisting the aggressor cannot be the sole solution.
