The Czech clergy's former ties with the communist secret service

The Archbishop of Prague Cardinal Miloslav Vlk wants an investigation into whether Czech members of the clergy collaborated with the communist secret police the StB. A panel of historians set up by Vlk and the Czech Ministry of Domestic affairs has been commissioned to carry out the necessary research. Vlk was prompted to take action by the scandal surrounding revelations about the spying activities of his counterpart in Warsaw, Stanislaw Wielgus. Commentator Petr Tresnak approves of Vlk's measures: "The Cardinal's project is a good idea. The public debate on the subject of collaboration with the secret police has been stymied because with the help of the courts, former agents have been stealing from their files and washing away the sins of their past. With no reflection about what they had done. Self-reflection among the clergy could lend new impetus to our dealing with our past."

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