Politics
Friday September 7, 2007
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Russian Orthodox Bishop Says Christianity is Necessary for Europe to Survive
Calls Christianity "a powerful source of support for European civilization"
By Meg Jalsevac
ROMANIA, September 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an address to the Third European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu this week, outspoken Russian Orthodox Bishop Kirill said that in order for Europe to survive the tribulations that have befallen previous civilizations, it must retain its Christian identity.
According to a report on interfax.com, Kirill explained that an increasing amount of Europeans Christians and non-Christians alike have come to recognize "Christianity [as] a powerful source of support for European civilization."
He was careful to explain that this does not imply that "there is no room" in Europe "for people of other religions and with other outlooks on the world." Rather, it points to the "recognition of the high role of the Christian faith in the past, present and future of our continent."
Considered a 'high up' in the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Kirill serves as bishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad and is the head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations. According to the website of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop Kirill has authored more than 200 works on religious and secular issues and hosts a popular weekly TV program.
This is not the first time that Kirill has been highlighted in the media. Kirill met with Pope Benedict not long after Benedict's appointment and some assert that Kirill is working to heal the rift between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
According to Kirill, "In the Vatican and not only in the Vatican but all over the world, Catholics understand that Orthodox (people) are their allies. And Orthodox (people) are more and more coming to understand that Catholics are their allies in the face of hostile and non-religious secularism."
Kirill has also been outspoken in his condemnation of homosexuality saying, "When the declaration of human rights was made no-one in their worst nightmare could imagine a gay parade in Jerusalem."
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Movie Reviewer for Catholic Bishops' Conference Praises Homosexualist Film - Again
- Vatican Attacked for Defending Natural Family
- Shock: Evangelical Leader Believes in Gay Civil Unions, Says OK to Vote for Obama
- U.K. Catholic Diocese will Continue to Collect Funds for Secularised Adoption Agency
- Too Much Television, Internet Linked to Long-Term Health Problems for Children
- Pro-Abortion Cherie Blair to Speak at Prominent Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome
- UK Bishops’ Document on Homosexuality Praised by Prominent Anti-Catholic Homosexualist
- Interview: "The Proposed Coalition Government is Very Very Scary" Says Canadian Pro-Life Leader
- Abortionist Pleads No Contest to Felonies, Faces up to 10 Years in Jail
Most Read this Week
- Behind the Scenes of Volition: Coincidences and Startling Circumstances
- Ad Showing Woman Seducing Santa Promotes Free Morning-After Pills and Condoms for Christmas
- A Painful, Disease-Ridden Death Isn’t So Bad if You’re Just a White, Heterosexual Male
- Abortion Now Number One Cause of Death in Spain
- UK Catholic Adoption Agencies Voluntarily Refuse Religious Opt-Out Clause for Homosexual Adoption
- Catholic Bishop: "Go Right Ahead and Arrest Me" Rather than Obey Freedom of Choice Act
- God is Pro-Choice Says Nun
- University of Calgary Pro-Life Students Victorious - Administration Backs Down from Arrest Threats
- IKEA’s Polish Catalogue Introduces “Ian and Steve” as a Model of the New Family
- Australian Health Minister Fires Men’s Health Ambassador for Documenting Risks of Homosexuality
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.