Andrew Cusack has a great write-up of Pope Benedict’s visit to Bohemia and Moravia. Besides narrating the events surrounding the visit, Mr. Cusack offers some informative background, such as this:
Eighty years of the Catholic Church being considered an enemy of the government have taken their toll. The church in Czechoslovakia was one of the most-deeply infiltrated in all of Europe, with hundreds of Communist agents entering the seminaries and being ordained priests. The Czech Republic today is one of the least religiously active countries in Europe, with 59% of the population claiming a lack of any religion in the official census. Catholic Christianity remains the largest religion in the country, but only with 26.8% of the population.
All is not dark, though. The bright Catholic history of these regions has more than a few embers still burning, and the reader gets a sense of that in the piece. May His Majesty, the Holy Infant of Prague, bring many blessings to this land, and receive there the honor He deserves!
