Poor guy! I hope he made it to heaven, and that's all that matters when it comes to his soul. In 1999, Pope John Paul II sent a letter to the International Symposium on John Hus, apologising for the poor treatment received by Hus personally and the Czech people as a whole (source: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1999/december/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_17121999_jan-hus.html). Having said that, if it were today, short of delivering him to civil authorities for punishment, Jan Hus would still be excommunicated. Back then, a whole universal Church Council was convened in major part because of him. Authentic reform is possible within the Church. Francis of Assissi, Teresa of Ávila, Catherine of Siena, and others have done it. Reform is not possible in obstinate defiance to the Vicar of Christ. In the case of Jan Hus, he was a son of the Church who succumbed to the teachings of John Wycliff, which the Church condemned as heretical. The Church did not object to having the Bible read in the local language, as is evident today; the vernacular is available in many languages. What she objected to was the Bible being read, having been mistranslated in a way that contradicts Church Teachings. With respect to Indulgences, the subsequent Council of Trent actually reaffirmed the necessity of indulgences. It did, however, abolish some practical elements (such as the use of quaestores) that could lead to abuse. Incidentally, yesterday was the Feast Day of a lesser-known saint, St John Plessington, who was executed by the Protestant King Charles II, for being a Catholic priest. In contrast to Hus' defiance of the Church, Plessington was executed (also by civil authorities) for fidelity to the Church. Plessington is a known saint. And although Hus' disobedience cannot be held up as an "exemplar par excellence" (that's what being a canonized saint means), I hope that he made it to heaven because, in the end, that's all that matters. View quoted note →