Europe is in danger of betraying its Christian heritage unless
Christians find new ways to influence Western society, Cardinal Reinhart
Marx warned this week during a lecture held in Oxford.The German cardinal, who is Archbishop of Munich and Freising, said: “We have an obligation to bring the Gospel to people. Evangelisation is not about losing the territory and then having a new battle. The Church does not have monopoly today but it aspires to leave a Christian footprint.”
Cardinal Marx made his remarks as part of the Newman Lecture, given at St Anne’s College, Oxford, on Tuesday.
Reflecting on how Europe today had been shaped by conflict, he described it “as still in the making”, “a work in progress”, but there were major problem because “the new Europe does not have a continuing narrative”, and he urged Christianity to provide it with vital values, particularly through Catholic social doctrine.
Among those who listened to his Newman Lecture were Archbishop Bernard Longley and Bishop John Arnold, auxiliary of Westminster.