LONDON (CNS): A British cardinal said rising secularism has the European Church entering “a time of crisis”.
President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster, said “Europeans are in need, as never before, of seeing God.”
In a May 25 lecture in Westminster Cathedral in London, the cardinal said rising secularism had led to the “extension of choice to all sectors of human life” and was “corroding our consciences”.
Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor echoed the concerns of the late Pope John Paul II, who failed to persuade the European Union to include a reference to the continent’s Christian heritage in the preamble to its constitution, and Pope Benedict XVI, who named himself after St Benedict, patron saint of Europe, partly in response to the loss of faith in the continent.
The cardinal warned his audience that “aggressive Christianity” was not the solution, but instead proposed that Europe might “relive its roots” if the Church successfully proclaimed the Gospel.
He delivered his speech on the eve of unveiling plans to re-organise the Archdiocese of Westminster.
Lay Catholics in the archdiocese were told they must help take over Church functions as the number of priests declines.
Fewer vocations will mean some churches will close and others will be consolidated under one priest.
