If you were looking for someone to give direction to Ireland at this juncture in our history, you probably wouldn’t think of a 78-year-old priest from Prague. But then Tomáš Halík is not an ordinary cleric.

The Catholic theologian, philosopher and author was active in the “underground church” during communist rule in then Czechoslovakia. He has worked as a psychotherapist with drug addicts, supports gay marriage and other liberal causes, and is outspoken on world affairs, describing as “genocide” both Israel’s actions in Gaza and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

But what really makes Halík interesting is his view of faith. The difference between belief and non-belief is not as great as you’d think, so Halík argues. We typically think of faith as acceptance of a set of principles but, he suggests, a non-believer may have more of the “spirit” of Christianity than a pious churchgoer.

Acknowledging the rise of “nones” across Europe – 14 per cent of the Irish population said they had no religion at the last Census in 2022 – Halík boldly states: “The time has come for Christianity to transcend itself.” Its future “will depend primarily on the extent to which Christians relate to the spiritual seekers among the nones”.

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