From the Underground Church to Freedom

International best-selling author and theologian Tom獺s Hal穩k shares for the first time the dramatic story of his life as a secretly ordained priest in Communist Czechoslovakia.

Born in Prague in 1948, Tom獺s Hal穩k spent his childhood under Stalinism. He describes his conversion to Christianity during the time of communist persecution of the church, his secret study of theology, and secret priesthood ordination in East Germany. Hal穩k speaks candidly of his doubts and crises of faith as well as of his conflicts within the church. He worked as a psychotherapist for over a decade and, at the same time, was active in the underground church and in the dissident movement with the legendary Cardinal Tom獺sek and V獺clav Havel, who proposed Hal穩k as his successor to the Czech presidency. Since the fall of the regime, Hal穩k has served as general secretary to the Czech Conference of Bishops and was an advisor to John Paul II and V獺clav Havel.

Woven throughout Hal穩k's story is the turbulent history of the church and society in the heart of Europe: the 1968 Prague Spring, the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the self-immolation of his classmate Jan Palach, the "flying university," the 1989 Velvet Revolution, and the difficult transition from totalitarian communist regime to democracy. Tom獺s Hal穩k was a direct witness to many of these events, and he provides valuable testimony about the backdrop of political events and personal memories of the key figures of that time.