Reformer Hus ‘is today an incentive to dialogue and reconciliation’

A German bishop has urged the Catholic Church to recognise the witness of the martyred Jan Hus (1369-1415) on the sixth centenary of his death at the stake, writes Jonathan Luxmoore.

At the same time the Pope urged further research into the Bohemian reformer’s life and work. “It’s high time our Church gave a key signal by recognising Hus as a credible Christian personality,” said Bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke, 74, head of inter-faith dialogue for the Bishops’ Conference. “We must do him justice, so we can walk together on the paths of reconciliation.”

The bishop was speaking in Hamburg at one of many memorial services for Hus, whose martyrdom anniversary is to be jointly marked by Catholics and Protestants in the Czech Republic.