Cardinal Walter Kasper (L) and Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad smile as they answer questions from journalists after their negotiations in Moscow in this undated photo. This post has been viewed 632 times.

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Cardinal Kasper compares modern Europe with "dancing on a powder keg"

Sibiu, Sep. 7, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Europe must maintain its Christian culture in order to survive in the modern world, a ranking Russian Orthodox prelate told an ecumenical gathering in Sibiu, Romania, this week.

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, the chief ecumenical official of the Moscow patriarchate, said that the Christian faith is "a vital source of support for European civilization." His speech echoed the argument that has been made frequently in recent years by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The shared goal of preserving Europe's Christian heritage has been an important factor in warming relations between the Holy See and the Moscow patriarchate.

Recognition of that Christian heritage does not mean excluding people of other religious faiths, Metropolitan Kirill told the participants in the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly. There is ample room for other faiths, he said-- provided that the historic and cultural basis for European civilization is respected and preserved.

Cardinal Kasper compares modern Europe with "dancing on a powder keg"

Sibiu (Romania), September 7, Interfax - With the loss of fundamental values based on Christianity, Europe risks losing its own future, said Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

"Today, Europe is in danger of not only betraying but also - in a banal way - simply forgetting her ideals," the Cardinal said at the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly at Sibiu, Romania.

The primary danger is forgetting God and promoting individualism and indifference, he said. "It is almost as if we are dancing on a volcano or on a powder keg," Kasper said.

Europe needs not only economic and political unity, he said. "If she is to have any future, Europe needs a shared set of basic values," the Vatican official said.

"Europe, in other words, we, Christians in Europe, must eventually wake up; Europe must stand by herself, her history and the values that once made her great and are the only thing that can give her a new future," Cardinal Kasper said.

"One can argue against Europe's roots only if one has one's eyes closed," he said, adding that those people "should be invited to make a journey from Gibraltar across Spain, France, Germany, Scandinavia and Poland as far as Estonia or from Rome via Constantinople and Kiev to Moscow."

"There would meet extremely different people and hear the most varied languages, but everywhere they would find the cross and, in the center of all ancient cities, cathedrals," the Cardinal said.

Discussion: Europe needs Christianity to survive: Russian prelate

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