VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Two of Europe’s newest cardinals have highlighted the importance of individual Catholics’ own personal witness for the re-evangelization of the continent.
Interviewed on the sidelines of the recent Consistory that created 21 new cardinals, two of the latest additions to the College of Cardinals shared their views on how Europe may be re-evangelized.
According to the latest statistics from the Holy See, European Catholicism is in a notable decline and has been for a number of years. Once-Christian Europe has registered the steepest decline in recent years in contrast to other areas of the world where the Church has grown.
In this context, LifeSite asked Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas and Cardinal Ladislav Nemet S.D.V. about their ideas of how to rebuild the Church in Europe. Makrickas, now coadjutor archpriest of St. Mary Major in Rome, is from Lithuania and previously served in Holy See diplomatic posts including the U.S. Nunciature. Nemet, from Serbia, is the Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade and vice-president of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE).
Speaking separately to this correspondent, both prelates noted the importance of the individual’s practice of the Catholic faith as a way to promote it. “Nothing can be stronger than our direct testimony of our Christian, authentic life,” Makrickas stated.
Nemet echoed this opinion. “One thing is sure: the authentic testimony is the most important [witness] of Catholics [and other] Christians who believe in God,” he said. “The first thing that the Apostles did, and later the first disciples, was [their] testimony of faith, and it brought about the birth of the Church.”
68-year-old Nemet, previously Secretary General of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, was greeted warmly by Hungary’s Cardinal Péter Erdő after the Consistory. Like Erdő, he is a notable polyglot, and his appointment as Serbia’s first cardinal could prove a key move in fostering relations with the numerous Orthodox believers living in the country.
Shouldering responsibility for the Basilica of St. Mary Major, 52-year-old Makrickas will have a key role in overseeing Pope Francis’ burial, given that the Pontiff has decided on a grave in the ancient church.
Having grown up under Soviet enforced restrictions on the Church’s life, Makrickas later worked in a number of the Holy See’s diplomatic offices around the world – Bolivia, Georgia, Sweden and the Nordic countries, the U.S., and Gabon and the Congo.
The Lithuanian cardinal cited also the importance of Marian devotion for the Church’s daily life, recalling having witnessed its strength while in America.
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LifeSite’s interviews with Cdl. Makrickas and then Cdl. Nemet are below:
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas
Michael Haynes: You were based in America for some time during your service in the various diplomatic posts. From a European perspective, the American Catholics seem very good at being active in many different causes, particularly in pro-life issues. Do you think there’s something that we [in Europe] can learn from them in that regard, or something that we can imitate, based on your time there?
Cdl. Makrickas: Actually, I was coming very often to the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception in Washington—you know very well the Basilica—and I was celebrating the Mass for the Lithuanian community every month. I saw on different occasions actually this very special devotion of American people to Mary. And I think, as in the whole Christian, Catholic world, there is something to learn from this devotion because we see many seminaries, many churches dedicated to Mary, and Mary is teaching us that family is important, that life is important, that our future is always following the will of God like Mary did with her decision, with her simple life, but with her firm belief that God is always helping us in doing His will.
So during my 3.5 years of service in the United States and in the Nunciature, I saw many communities, and I visited different Marian churches and I saw that this devotion is very alive.
Haynes: Moving to St. Mary Major where you are now – arguably one of the most beautiful basilicas dedicated to Our Lady, how do you think we can best promote Marian devotion in the world today, when much of the world is so anti-Catholic or just very secular? How do you think we can use Marian devotion to aid evangelization nowadays?
Cdl. Mackrikas: Actually, always evangelization is to show the Christian example, and attention to a sacramental life. So these are the pillars of our Catholic life.
So the testimony, testimony is the basis of our new evangelization and in general of educating and promoting our values, Christian values in the world. Nothing can be stronger than our direct testimony of our Christian, authentic life.
Cardinal Ladislav Nemet S.D.V.
Michael Haynes: You are one of the vice presidents of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe. We are seeing in many parts of Europe a loss of faith, a loss of practice of the Faith. What do you think are some of the causes behind it and what might be some of the ways forward for the Church to re-evangelize those parts of Europe?
Cdl. L Nemet: Europe has different dimensions, let’s say, [as] the first thing. I know both sides, let’s say the life of Church in the majority Orthodox countries, where religion is very important.
The Orthodox Church is very strong, and the participation of people in the liturgy is very high, but it’s a different kind of participation. You just go in as a believer, as a Christian, and they do not have such social engagement like we, other Christians, let’s say the Protestant and the Catholic side.
On the other side, in the Western European countries, we have a very strong sense of godlessness. Let’s say in this way, godlessness. So God is not anymore a topic for the common discourse or for society as such. And this is something that pushes us towards regional, local solutions.
Evangelization is a common effort of all local churches in Europe, but how to make evangelization, what to use, what kind of social media, or even other things, [like] which equipment, it depends on the local church.
One thing is sure: the authentic testimony is the most important of Catholics [and other] Christians who believe in God. The first thing that the Apostles did, and later the first disciples, was the testimony of faith and it brought about the birth of the Church.
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