Press: head of Catholic Church in Czech Republic set to retire at year end

Czech cardinal Miloslav Vlk has said that he is considering retirement in 2009, reported Mladá fronta Dnes on Saturday. Cardinal Vlk was released from hospital on Friday after collapsing from exhaustion two weeks ago. He is now expected to recover at Třeboň spa in Southern Bohemia. The head of the Czech Catholic Church was diagnosed with a heart problem last year, and underwent surgery to have a pacemaker fitted. He released a statement on his website this week to say that he thought it highly likely that he would be standing down from his function at the end of the year.