Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, has called on Catholics to acknowledge Europe’s decline amid rising secularization and demographic shifts.
In a recent interview with the French Catholic magazine Famille Chrétienne, he said Christians need to adapt to changing circumstances.
“We must accept the decline of Europe,” the cardinal said, highlighting the continent’s transformation due to a declining birth rate and increasing immigration, including a significant Muslim presence. He described this shift as an “undeniable continental movement.”
Cardinal Schönborn rejected the notion that Europe is no longer Christian due to Islam’s influence, calling such claims “absurd.” He noted that 12,000 adults and young people were baptized in France this year.
The Austrian prelate urged Catholics to “return to the Church” to preserve Europe’s historical identity, stressing that if Catholics have left, “it is not surprising that they are now a minority.”
He also advocated for a “fraternal rapprochement” with Islam, quoting Pope Francis that Christians “do not take up arms but trust in the work of grace.”
Cardinal Schönborn finally reaffirmed that despite secularization, “the Church has not breathed its last.”
Photo credit: Figlhaus Wien Akademie für Dialog und Evangelisation, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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