I am so sorry for losing faith and reason in Europe

Vatican Foreign Minister Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in an interview, expressed concern about the loss of faith and reason in Europe. In addition, he talked about his relationship with Pope Francis, the role he played in papal diplomacy, and other topics.

“I am very sorry for the loss of confidence in Europe, in our culture, in our country, and these anthropological changes that are taking place, and the loss of human identity. Before losing faith. I will say it is a loss of reasonCardinal Parolin said, referring to the euthanasia law that Spain passed a few weeks ago.

“Why? The Pope says it several times. It shocked me a lot. He says, for example: The issue of abortion is not a religious issue. It is certainly also for us Christians from the beginning, since the first documents of the Church there is a complete rejection of abortion, but it is the argument of reason. Perhaps today, as Benedict XVI said, “The main problem is reason, not faith.” Posted on Monday April 5th In the COPE series.

Regarding how to reverse this situation, he said that the faith must be transferred again through testimony.

“We have to bear witness to our hope, we must bear witness to our sincerity. But the line is this. Today nothing can be imposed but to present a consistent and convincing testimony to the Christian life.”

The Cardinal believes that the current situation can be compared “to the first centuries of the Church, when the first apostles and disciples arrived in a society that did not have Christian values, but through the testimony of the first societies they were able to change the mindset and introduce the values ​​of the Gospel into society at that time.”

“I think that is the path that we still have to take today,” he said.

Near Pope Francis

During the interview, Cardinal Parolin also highlighted the closeness of Pope Francis. When one approaches the “Supreme Pontiff,” one realizes that he is a Simple guy without protocol“, claimed.

“The connection is immediate. Take great care of the relationship and being close to people. His desire to make the church more credible in proclaiming the gospel,” he emphasized.

He also said that they both believe in a church that is a company, not a kind of democratic assembly.

“Christ prayed for the unity of the Church, but now there are reasons for concern. I thought the problem might be that the Pope is focusing too much on reforming the church and there is a lot of confusion about this. The structure of the church is the deposit of faith, sacraments and apostolic service, and this cannot be changed, but There is a whole church life that can be renewed, but always according to the spirit of the gospel. ” explained.

His life as Foreign Minister of the Vatican

The Cardinal, who held the position of Secretary of State of the Holy See for eight years, notes that he accepted the position with “great pleasure,” and noted that ecclesiastical diplomacy is also a means for the exercise of the priesthood.

“I still feel that I am called to be a priest, a servant of the Lord who works in the church for the sake of souls. There are different ways to practice the priesthood, and one of these methods is church diplomacy, which the church still considers today a way Practice your missionThat is why I never found a contradiction between being a chaplain and a diplomat, ”he said in the interview.

Cardinal Parolin explained that his main task is Strengthening the ties between the Holy See and local churches“.

“We are at the service of the company as well Defending freedom of the church and religious freedom. This is my way of looking at diplomacy.

The International Politics

Cardinal Parolin also referred to the interim agreement signed between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China to appoint bishops in the Asian country.

The agreement was announced in September 2018 and renewed in October 2020, but the terms of the agreement were not fully disclosed.

The Cardinal emphasized in the interview that “the church in China is an essential part of the Catholic Church and that all that has been tried and done is to ensure a normal life in the country’s church, to achieve areas of religious freedom and communion, because one cannot live in the Catholic Church without communion.” With the successor of Peter, with the Pope. “

In addition, he referred to the historic trip that the Pontiff took to Iraq from March 5 to 8, which he described as “extremely emotional.”

The Church suffered because, unfortunately, Christians have been persecuted by all conflicts and by all the forces that want to uproot the Christian faith in that country. From there we can draw a great lesson from Iraqi Christians.

In addition, he believes that from the Church in Europe there should be “more solidarity, more closeness and more ways to express our support and help us moving forward”; Because they “teach us this ability to be loyal in spite of all difficulties.”

At the end of the interview, Cardinal Parolin requested that we all unite on Easter Monday “We all unite in prayer so that the Lord helps us to be faithful to our mission, each one in his place, but to be faithful in the mission of martyrdom.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin was born on January 17, 1955 and has been the Vatican Minister of Foreign Affairs since October 15, 2013.

At the age of fourteen, he joined the Vicenza Seminary and was ordained a priest on April 27, 1980. He studied canon law at the Gregorian University and in 1983 began the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Upon completion, he performed the diplomatic service of the Holy See in the Nigerian and Mexican travels.

Saint John Paul II appointed him in 2002 as Deputy for the Department of Relations with the States of the Vatican State Secretariat, and Benedict XVI appointed him in 2009 as Apostolic Ambassador to Venezuela, a position he held until Pope Francis appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2013.