Freedom of religion is the most basic human freedom, as it affects the innermost being of a person, said Apostolic Nuncio Michael Wallace Banach in Kossuth radio's Sunday newspaper program. However, in his view, the biggest challenge for Christians today is apathy, lack of interest.
Speaking about the situation of Christianity in Europe, Michael Wallace Banach reminded us that hate crimes against Christians have been on the rise in recent years. The nuncio sees the reason for this in secularization and fear of the truth.
Christian churches speak the truth about man and God, and "the truth we preach about man is often very different from the truth others think it is," he said.
According to the nuncio, the difficult situation of Christianity can be explained by the various attempts to undermine the credibility of the Christian churches and the Catholic Church. It all works together, he said.
He emphasized: in order to strengthen Christianity in Europe, the basic principle of religious freedom must be recalled.
"We must insist that freedom of religion also means the freedom to profess one's faith, and that the public profession of faith should not be considered discriminatory, even if a Christian church formulates something that does not please the current course".
The nuncio St. II. He referred to Pope János Pál, who said that if someone wants to examine the degree of human rights in a country, it is enough to look at how they can exercise freedom of religion.
Michael Wallace Banach also called dialogue with both Christian and non-Christian communities important in order to achieve mutual respect. He noted that whoever we invite to a dialogue will "be our partner, a guest at the table." He may not like the food served to him, but it is there in the room.
When asked what is the most serious threat to European Christianity, secularization, the arrival of the Muslim masses in Europe or the gender theory, the nuncio answered that they all represent a challenge, but at the same time, according to the archbishop, they also have a positive effect, because they encourage that "we get to know Christian teaching more deeply and try to explain our own position to people even more clearly".
According to Michael Wallace Banach, however, the biggest challenge for Christians today is apathy, lack of interest.
Christians live in relative peace and material well-being, which is why they do not take up Christianity or deal with it. In the last book of the Bible, the Apocalypse, God says to one of the seven churches: "You are neither cold nor warm, therefore I will take you out of my mouth," reminded the archbishop-diplomat.
The Vatican - as Pope Francis is doing - should encourage Catholics and followers of other Christian denominations to be faithful to their Christian faith, to take it seriously and be proud of it, not to be afraid to confess their faith and to continue dialogue with others, the nuncio stressed.
Source: Felvidek.ma
Featured image: Magyar Kurír
