PRAGUE (CZECHIA)
Brno Daily [Brno, Czech Republic]
January 15, 2026
Victims of sexual abuse within the Czech Catholic Church have called on Czech President Petr Pavel to stand up for them during his meeting with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on Monday, in an open letter released to CTK earlier this week.
Seven of the eight signatories of the letter also attached their personal stories and experiences of sexual abuse in the church. They called on the president not to sign the Czech-Vatican treaty.
Pavel and his wife Eva will visit the Vatican on Monday, 19 January, where Pope Leo XIV will receive them. A meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is also planned.
In their letter, the signatories express their trust in the president as the supreme representative of the state, who, according to the constitution, is committed to protecting human dignity and freedom.
“You will visit the Vatican next week. We ask you: Become our voice in a place where we have so far been met with indifference,” reads the letter, which was provided to CTK by signatories Jan Rozek and Ladislav Koubek.
The text mentions hundreds of thousands of victims of sexual abuse by representatives of the Catholic Church in France and Spain, citing official sources there. In the Czech Republic, the letter mentions some thousands of victims.
The letter recalls last year’s meeting between representatives of the victims and the Apostolic Nuncio to Prague, Jude Thaddeus Okolo. The victims’ representatives handed him a petition demanding the resignation of those bishops who had not intervened to prevent sexual predators among the clergy, even though they were aware of their behaviour.
“This applies in particular to Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner,” the letter notes. The victims accuse him of being aware of the abuse of children by priest Frantisek Merta while he was the Moravian Metropolitan, but addressing the situation only by transferring the priest to other locations. Graubner has previously denied these allegations, including on a Czech Television programme.
Regarding the agreement with the Vatican, the letter highlights Pavel’s previous reservations. Last April, the president said in a statement to the Constitutional Court that the document, ratified by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, was not in accordance with the constitution and established a privileged position for the Catholic Church. Last March, a group of senators turned to the Constitutional Court to assess whether this was a human rights treaty.
“From our point of view, the proposed treaty contains, in particular, a provision on a right similar to the seal of confession for pastoral staff. Anyone designated by the Church can be a pastoral worker,” the victims’ representatives wrote in the letter.
Leo XIV became the Pope last May. After his election, Pavel congratulated him and wished him strength, wisdom, and courage in a telegram, and he subsequently invited him to visit the Czech Republic. At the time, Pavel said he was convinced that the voice of the new head of the Catholic Church would become a strong advocate for those facing oppression, injustice, and suffering caused by unjust aggression.
The plenary session of the Czech Bishops’ Conference will also discuss the topic of victims of sexual abuse in the church on 19-20 January, according to information on the conference’s website.