Blanar: Cardinal Duka Was Sincere Friend of Slovakia and Czech-Slovak Relations

Prague/Bratislava, 15 November (TASR) - Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) led the delegation of government officials at the funeral of Cardinal Dominik Jaroslav Duka, the Archbishop Emeritus of Prague, in the Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert on Saturday, describing Duka as a significant figure of the Catholic Church and a sincere friend of Slovakia, TASR has learnt from a social media post published by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. "Today in Prague, we said farewell to an important figure of the Catholic Church, a great and sincere friend of Slovakia and of Slovak–Czech relations," the ministry quoted Blanar on social media. He stressed that important figures like "Cardinal Duka remind us that values such as truth, faith, courage and service to others have lasting meaning in times when we often find ourselves lost in the noise of everyday life". Blanar also highlighted Cardinal Duka's participation this year in the Cyril and Methodius celebrations at the Devin castle (Bratislava region) and in the pilgrimage in Nitra, where he reaffirmed the shared spiritual heritage. Along with Blanar, Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD), Investment Minister Samuel Migal (Independent) and Culture Ministry State Secretary Tibor Bernatak also came to honour the memory of Cardinal Duka. The funeral was attended by Czech President Petr Pavel and his two predecessors Milos Zeman and Vaclav Klaus. Also present were ANO leader Andrej Babis, Lower House Speaker and SPD party leader Tomio Okamura, KDU-CSL leader Marek Vyborny, actress Jirina Bohdalova and director Jiri Strach. Cardinal Duka died on 4 November at the age of 82. He was the last living cardinal in the Czech Republic and served as Archbishop of Prague from 2010 to 2022. jrg