TAIZE, France (CNS): About 10,000 Christians of various denominations travelled to the Church of the Reconciliation in the village of Taize, in the eastern Burgundy region of France, for the August 23 funeral of Br Roger Schutz, the renowned ecumenical leader.
It was in the same church, exactly one week earlier, that the 90 year-old monk had his throat cut by a mentally unstable Romanian woman, Luminita Solcan, during a prayer service.
Br Roger’s principal message had always been one of unity, and the Vatican’s chief ecumenist, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, celebrated the funeral Mass.
Cardinals and archbishops, Orthodox, Anglican and other religious leaders and international politicians joined ordinary Christians in prayer during the funeral.
In his homily, Cardinal Kasper said: “Br Roger caused love and hope to shine around him, far beyond the barriers and divisions of this world.
Police are still questioning Solcan to see if she is mentally fit to be prosecuted.
After the service, Br Roger was buried in a simple ceremony in the community’s cemetery, where his mother and other Taize brothers are interred.
