Everything that makes Europe great has its roots in the Bible, says Cardinal Bozanic

Vatican City, Oct 8, 2008 / 11:28 am

The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanic, said this week that “an indissoluble link exists between the Bible and Europe. Everything that made European culture and its civilization great has its beginning in the Bible.”

During his intervention at the Synod of Bishops, the Croatian cardinal explained that “issues such as the dignity of the person, the recognition of human rights, the separation of Church and State—just to cite a few examples—have their nucleus in the wellspring of the Bible. Social justice, rights, the criticism of any type of idolatry, the rejection of false images of God, also have their foundation in the Bible,” he added.

Likewise, the cardinal warned that a “Europe without God runs the risk of becoming a den of anguish and of building a civilization of fear.  The Word of God restores hope and joy. Europe, moreover, enters into crisis when it does not accept the interpretive strength of the Word of God, which has its ultimate foundation in faith and in inspiration.  This is an arduous task for all of the scientific disciplines, and especially for theology,” he said.

“Europe rightly brags of the development of its own theological thought but a subsequent effort is necessary for a more favorable confrontation with the new interpretations and scientific searches, which are often, on purpose, separated from the hermeneutic paradigms of Christian truth.”

“In fact, a culture that breaks with the Christian celebration, that is, with the celebration of the Mystery of the kindness of God and salvation in Christ, jeopardizes its own happiness and pushes Europe towards a civilization of affliction and of sadness,” Cardinal Bozanic argued. “The Word of God restores to the European man the capacity to celebrate life. Wherever the celebration of the Christian mysteries exist, there the Church is young, and that guarantees youth for Europe,” he concluded.