Cardinal Duka filing constitutional complaint over controversial plays

Cardinal Dominik Duka and his lawyer Ronald Němec will file a constitutional complaint against the court’s decision that they are not entitled to an apology for interfering with their rights, allegedly caused by the staging of two plays at the Brno Theater World festival. This was confirmed to Czech Television by lawyer Němec. Both performances provocatively depicted some Christian symbols and criticized the Roman Catholic Church and the Western view of the Muslim world. However, according to the April judgment of the Supreme Court, there was no discrimination against Christians or interference with the right to freedom of religion.

The lawsuit concerned the plays by director Oliver Frljič The Curse and Our Violence and Your Violence in Brno in May 2018. The first of them deals with the abuse of children by priests and includes, for example, a hint of oral sex on a statue of Pope John Paul II. The game also caused outrage during the launch in Poland and Croatia. The second play critically evaluates the relationship of Western society to the Muslim world and includes, for example, a scene where an actor descends from the cross and pretends to rape a Muslim woman.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the theater before the play Our Violence and Your Violence. About 20 people then interrupted the performance by entering the stage, leaving after the police intervention. The theater performers then finished the play with the support of the spectators who remained in the auditorium.

Duka and his lawyer Němec, who joined the lawsuit, asked for an apology from the Brno National Theater, which organized the festival, and the Experimental Theater Center, on whose stage the performance was performed. Representatives of the theaters pointed out that neither Duka nor Němec was shown in the performances or participated as spectators.

The lawsuit was first dismissed by the Municipal Court in Brno. Duka and the German also failed to appeal to the Regional Court in Brno. In their decisions, the Brno courts emphasized freedom of speech and artistic expression, as well as the fact that both performances raised important topics.

In April this year, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Duka and his lawyer. If the cardinal wanted to express outrage over the content of the games, he could actively appear in public and use the authority of his office, the court indicated in a decision, which he made available on the official notice board. According to the court, it cannot be said that the games offended all Christians.