Cardinal Marx at the “Week of the University of Salzburg” – The fears that distress Europe
“One who knows Jesus Christ can never be a
fundamentalist. The great Gospel narratives, such as the parable of the Good
Samaritan or the Beatitudes, are stories that belong to the cultural history of
Europe, not just to Christians. But the modern culture of freedom has no
guarantee of existence.
What we have created must not be called into question
by a new era of passions” that we are likely experiencing. This is one of the
most significant passages of the address given by Cardinal Reinhard Marx,
Archbishop of Munich and Freising, President of the German Bishops’ Conference,
who spoke on Sunday, 7 August, on the final day of the 85th “Week of the University of Salzburg”. The
event held in the Austrian city was dedicated to the topic of “Passions”. The
cardinal expressed his concern for the spread of “passions” – aggression –
in Europe. “It concerns me that what is emerging is not freedom or human
dignity but exclusion and fear, as well as new nationalisms. What meaning does
the culture of responsibility have today, which, even at the time of the cold
war, represented a prospect for the future?”, the Cardinal asked.