Mons. ThDr. Oto Mádr, dr. h. c. (15 February 1917 – 27 February 2011) was a Czech

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest,

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, university professor, long-time

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

and the chief editor of ''Theological Texts'' ().

Life

Mádr studied at the Archbishop's high school in the

Bubeneč Bubeneč is a district in the north-west of Prague. 52% of the district is in Prague 7, but most of the built-up area is in Prague 6. Sparta Prague football club and their stadium Generali Arena is situated at the south-eastern edge of Bubeneč ...

district of Prague, before continuing his education at the

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

School of Theology (1936–1939). He was ordained as a priest in 1942 and began as a parish priest. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he continued his study of

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

at the Gregorian University in Rome (1948–1949). He then returned to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, where he was awarded the title of

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

for his study on the works of

Francisco Suárez Francisco Suárez (; 5 January 1548 – 25 September 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement. His work is considered a turning point in the history of second ...

. He remained active in the management of his parish, but also worked as a high-school teacher and was a prominent figure in the circles of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

. He was a youth pastor in the church of The Most Holy Saviour in 1950. He was arrested in May 1951 and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

for alleged

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

for the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

and organization of illegal religious activity, in a

miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent ...

. After release on probation in 1966, he worked in various blue-collar jobs. He returned briefly in 1968 to the Charles University School of Theology and was fully rehabilitated in 1970 (his rehabilitation was cancelled in 1975, and renewed in 1990). He was sent away to a parish in the border areas in 1970 (

Dolní Žandov Dolní Žandov () is a municipality and village in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. Administrative division Dolní Žandov consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population acco ...

near

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

), and he returned to Prague only as a pensioner in 1978. However, he did not retire from his theological work, and was one of the main organizers of the Catholic

samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...

. He continued in his collaboration with exiles, maintained relationships with foreign visitors, and participated in the preparation of secretly ordained priests and in the organization of theological colloquia at home. He was one of the main advisers to

František Tomášek František Tomášek (30 June 1899, in Studénka, Moravia – 4 August 1992, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia, the 34th Archbishop of Prague, and a Roman Catholic theologian. His "cautious bu ...

(from 1968), writing a couple of fundamental texts for him, which Tomášek published under his name. Mádr published the journal ''Theological Texts'' () from 1978, first as samizdat, then after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

as a normal

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

. He published tens of books in samizdat, mainly translations. He returned to the Charles University School of Theology with his friend Josef Zvěřina in 1990, but after Zvěřina's death the same year he was again removed, returning permanently only after a change in the leadership of the school in 2002. He received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in 1991 from the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

and was awarded the

Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk () is an order (decoration), Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the dissolution of Czechosl ...

III. class in 1997. He was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

Vyšehrad chapter The Vyšehrad Chapter (), officially the Royal Collegiate Chapter of Ss. Peter and Paul at Vyšehrad (), is a collegiate chapter established at the church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul in Vyšehrad (now in Prague Prague ( ; ) is th ...

from 1999.

Work

Aside from hundreds of articles, reviews and specialized essays in journals and compilations in the Czech Republic as well as abroad, he published these books: * 1992: ''The Word About This Time lovo o této době'' Zvon, Praha * 1993: ''Wie Kirche nicht stirbt''. Leipzig * 2003: ''To the core of the matter: current reflections from years 1993-2003 jádru věci: aktuální reflexe z let 1993-2003'' Vyšehrad, Praha * 2007: ''In the struggles for the God's issues zápasech za Boží věc'. Vyšehrad, Praha, .

References

External links

Official website in Czech and German

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madr, Oto Charles University alumni Czech Roman Catholic theologians 1917 births Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Clergy from Prague Czech writers in German 2011 deaths 20th-century Czech philosophers Czech journalists Academic staff of Charles University 20th-century Czech Roman Catholic priests Czechoslovak Roman Catholic priests

Life

Work

References

Further reading

External links