Sint-Jozefkathedraal in the Netherlands -- one of Europe's most secular countries
During his pilgrimage to Czechoslovakia, Pope Benedict XVI told increasingly secular Europeans to not forget their Christian heritage, particularly as people from other regions (and who observe other religions) immigrate there.
“As Europe listens to the story of Christianity, she hears her own,” the pope said, according to the Associated Press. “Her notions of justice, freedom and social responsibility, together with the cultural and legal institutions established to preserve these ideas and hand them on to future generations, are shaped by her Christian inheritance.”
One of the saddest storylines in Christendom, as far as I’m concerned, is the secularization of Europe. Christianity was born in Palestine, of course, but it was weaned in Rome and was raised in Britain, France, Germany and Italy. When I went to London a couple of years ago, I was blown away by the beauty of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey — and it made me sad to think that these two Christian shrines are more museums now than places of worship. Most Western Europeans, from what I understand, don’t attend church, and in many countries, Christians are swiftly becoming minorities, outnumbered by their secular and Muslim neighbors.
But in the scope of Christian history, today’s Europe is but a momentary snapshot. These things, however they’re trending now, often reverse themselves eventually. It probably won’t happen tomorrow, or next year, or maybe even in the next century. But one day, perhaps, those glorious cathedrals will be filled with worshippers once again.
