In an interview during the final day of the archdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes, Cardinal Wim Eijk once again said what the need to close church buildings should actualy lead to: not anger and protest, but renewed communities of faith. RKK reports.
“Jesus said to proclaim to faith. He did not tell us to build churches everywhere.”
And while churches have an important function, they are not what our faith is about. We find it in the sacraments and in the community of faith, and these are not limited to buildings.
“If we continue like this, the Church will be like a Christmas tree. At some point all the needles will have fallen, and that’s it, the Church quietly passes away.”
It’s a painful necessity to close some churches, but it is a bishop’s duty to look ahead and make sure that what has been entrusted to him will also be there for future generations. Not buildings, but faith. When there is anger, conscious misrepresentations and even schism, faith withers away. We must aways keep this future in mind, even when the here and now is painful and makes us feel misunderstood. Our faith is an optimistic one, and we must have the confidence to work with what has been given to us, even if we sometimes wish we had a little more at our disposal.
Cardinal Eijk also mentions how he deals with the anger and criticism levelled against him:
“As a follower of Christ you must sometimes also be willing to make sacrifices. When you are confident in faith that this is the right way, you’ll just have to do it. You must be willing to do so. Jesus himself was also heavily criticised. I find a true support in the life of Jesus, but also the life of St. Bernadette. I consider it a source of inspiration. In order to achieve something in life, you’ll have to overcome some obstacles. But I have faith that God will give me the strength to do so, and I also pray for that.”
