The cardinal, in statements to Vatican News, takes stock of his five years as presidency of COMECE amidst the challenges of Brexit, the pandemic and conflicts. He also asks that young people be given “a space for expression so that they can also express their wishes to politicians” and reiterates the importance of multiculturalism, which “is not a threat, but the possibility of opening new horizons”.
Stefano Leszczynski – Vatican City
From the commitment of the European Churches to promote peace and reconciliation in Ukraine, to the challenges posed by secularization in the countries of the European Union. The president of COMECE – the Commission that brings together the episcopates of the EU -, Cardinal Jean Claude Hollerich, takes stock of the last five years of his mandate. A historical period that has confronted Europe with previously unimaginable challenges such as the Covid pandemic or purely political events such as Brexit. Topics that Cardinal Hollerich also spoke of in his meeting with Pope Francis on Monday morning and which he summarized on Vatican Radio – Vatican News. Every action of the European Churches, the cardinal points out, must take into account the well-being of future generations. It is to young people that we must leave a legacy of peace, reconciled and united both internally and in the face of international challenges.
Your Eminence, how was the meeting with the Pope?
Meeting the Pope is always a joy because the Holy Father is very cordial, he is a Pope who loves Europe, who appreciates European integration, who sees Europe as a factor of peace in the world and also of moderation. Unfortunately we now have war in Europe and we spoke about Ukraine because the Pope’s heart, and our heart too, is with the Ukrainian people who have been attacked and there are people who die every day, people who are cold, people than having nothing to eat. And that hurts.
What have the European Churches tried to do to stop this drama and, above all, to help those who suffer the most and who have been forced to leave their country?
First it was an action of the Churches of Europe, each in its own country, to welcome refugees from Ukraine. Also in my house I have a Ukrainian family, a mother with two children, and I am happy to celebrate Christmas with them. But this is just one point, we as a Church can never be satisfied with this war, we must always, always take initiatives for a truce, for peace. It is also natural that the Catholic Church cannot act alone. For this reason we are in close contact with the CEC, which is the organization of the other Churches in Europe, Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican. We went together to Poland to see how refugees were welcomed and we worked for a truce, for peace. Of course we are not diplomats and our hands are small, but we do our best, I think we owe it to God and humanity.
Probably one of the most urgent challenges for the future of the Church and of the Churches will be thinking about how to rebuild the social fabric of Ukraine after the war…
Yes, we have to rebuild the social fabric and also find reconciliation with Russia, because in Luxembourg we have the experience of the Second World War. It was a very painful experience, I met many people who hated Germany, but then it changed! Now Germany is a friendly country and the Germans are always welcome in the country, we must come to the same thing: a reconciliation, a peace where both sides can keep face, neither Russia nor Ukraine must lose face, otherwise peace is not possible, but this will be the result of a very long dialogue and I hope that we can enter such a phase.
The last five years have been years full of challenges and unforeseen events in history. We have had dramas such as the pandemic, which has upset the lives of all of us; we have had episodes in Europe that no one expected with Member States leaving the Union, a Union that was built with so much effort and that many still want to join and expand. And then many changes also within the European institutions which have sought ever greater cohesion. How did you and COMECE personally experience these historic moments?
It has been a very pleasant experience for me to maintain this dialogue with the institutions of the European Union. True, Brexit was a drama, because first there were always countries that wanted to join the Union, and then there was a country that wanted to leave and thought it could have a better future outside the Union. We have seen that this is not possible. The UK is doing badly… I think it’s a good sign for anyone thinking of leaving the EU, it’s a warning sign, you can’t do it like this. Our economies are intertwined, you can’t just walk away. Also for us in Comece – because we have delegate bishops from all the Episcopal Conferences – there was a delegate bishop from the Conference of England and Wells and another delegate from Scotland, but we voted in favor of these two countries which can always participate in our meet as guests. We see them as Europeans, and now I think it is very important that the European Union and the United Kingdom find a way to coexist peacefully and help each other, so no rivalry, but really help each other, because European citizens must have progress in peace and well-being, we must think of the next generation.
In a sense, it is a confirmation of the Church’s constant call to “no one saves themselves”…
Yes, this is very true. The same thing happened with the pandemic, it was terrible at the beginning, nationalism returned, every country wanted to save itself, but it didn’t work. Then, after an initial absence from the union, everyone got involved and behaved very well. But we know that the ghosts of the past are still there and we must be careful not to provoke them. We must do everything possible for peaceful integration into the European Union.
In these five years have you encountered any critical issues perhaps in the relationship with the European Union on the dualism between the spiritual life of Europe and the political life that continues to create or sometimes creates difficulties that need to be overcome?
It is not clear, there are bishops who do not understand why there is this somewhat political activity of the Church, but the Church must be a dialogue with the world and we have the Social Doctrine of the Church, which is a treasure. We have to have moral and political action, and I think the men and women of politics are very happy to sometimes have a voice directed to their conscience which makes things easier for them. In the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, article 17 establishes that the Union must maintain a structured and open dialogue with religions, and we do this in our secretariat in Brussels, with specialists in various fields of European politics, who carry out a good job.
In your opinion, is secularization still a challenge?
Yes, it’s a challenge. Europe is also secularizing itself. After each parliamentary election, the number of Christians who truly want to live their faith decreases. But we can also dialogue with others. I believe that everyone is capable of dialogue and we are in contact with all parties, with all parliamentary groups, because together we want to work for the common good in Europe, for every citizen, for every person in Europe, who has the right to live happily . . If I hadn’t been a bishop, I would be of retirement age, and then I often think of young people: we must leave them a world in which they can live. I am also very happy that at COMECE we have set up a Youth Council, because we must not only speak on behalf of young people, but we must give them a space to express themselves and also give politicians the opportunity to make their wishes come true. . Therefore, it is good to work for the generation that follows us.
A generation that will be increasingly multicultural, also considering the issue of migration in Europe…
Yes, we are all brothers! Multiculturalism is not a threat, but the possibility of opening new horizons and of having a common progress of humanity. For this I am very satisfied and happy.
