ABSTRACT
Even though the Roman Catholic Church has been a dominant religious institution in the territory of today’s Czech Republic for centuries, its status has always been a subject of controversy and inherent weakness. This weakness has become increasingly more pronounced during the twentieth century, and during the period of post-communism. In spite of the loss of religiosity, the Catholic Church has not become more united and cohesive in a protective mode. Instead, its current division mirrors in a milder way the current tensions within the world of Catholicism. Many of the divisions within the worldwide Church date back to the decisions of the Second Vatican Council, which concluded in 1965, and has been accentuated by the papacy of Pope Francis. The current Pope’s liberal reformism, coming after a combined 35 years of the conservative papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, has been increasingly resisted by the traditionalists within the Church, including an increasingly more powerful conservative wing of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States.
