Vatican City, Jun 16, 2021 / 13:00 pm
A leading European cardinal has said that the great problem the continent will face in the future is attacks against religious freedom.
In a June 16 interview with ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language partner agency, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich said he thought that “the problem of religious freedom will be the great problem of the future in Europe.”
“There is no persecution of the Church: it would be too much to say,” he said. “But, in some countries, there are, at different levels, small attacks against the freedom of religion, and we must be on guard.”
Hollerich is the archbishop of Luxembourg and president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE). He and other members of COMECE met with Pope Francis and other Vatican officials in Rome the week of June 7.
COMECE, founded in 1980, consists of bishops delegated by the bishops’ conferences of the 27 member states of the European Union.
Last year, COMECE spoke out against the long-term forced closure of churches during the coronavirus pandemic in light of the rights to freedom of religion and freedom of worship.
“COMECE takes this opportunity to restate that any erosion of fundamental rights in the current emergency context, including freedom of religion, must not become the new norm. These rights have to be fully re-established as early as possible,” it said.
Speaking with ACI Stampa, Hollerich called the number of Catholics able to attend Mass in Belgium during the pandemic “ridiculous.” He also criticized Ireland’s extended ban on public Masses.
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