The migration and Islam-critical Austrian Archbishop tipped to be the next Pope has said that we should not judge Donald Trump too quickly and wishes the Middle East would become Christian again.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the 71-year-old Archbishop of Vienna, looked back at a turbulent 2016 which saw an increased focus on migration issues and two shock elections with Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
Schönborn said: “I do not know if Ms Clinton really would have been the better solution and I do not know whether Mister Trump is the great misfortune. Many also shook their heads when Ronald Reagan was elected: For God’s sake, an actor from California!
“But Reagan was certainly one of the best Presidents the US ever had. So you should not be too quick to judge.”
The outspoken Cardinal also explained that he thought Brexit was “a misfortune” as he sees European cohesion as something “incomparably better than the European antagonism we have suffered for centuries.”
With migration being one of the driving themes behind Brexit and Trump’s election, Cardinal Schönborn himself spoke out a lot last year on the topic. He warned that Muslims wanted to eradicate Christians and conquer Europe, and said that “we are in danger of forfeiting our Christian heritage.”
Schönborn said: “Turkey was once completely Christian before it was conquered by the Turks. Of course, as a Christian, I would like the Middle East to become Christian again, as it once was, and North Africa.
“Of course I wish this because I believe that Christianity is not only my personal religion, but a religion that is a good religion despite all the wrongs that might have happened. So I cannot blame the Muslims if they want Europe to become Islamic. That is not my problem.”
Cardinal Schönborn explained that people afraid of Islamisation should think out loud about what they are doing themselves to preserve Christianity in Europe.
Schönborn said: “Fear of the Islamisation of Europe is nonsensical if one does not contribute something to Europe remaining Christian.”
“If a church is sold in the Netherlands and transformed into a supermarket, when the supermarkets are more important to us than the Christian roots of Europe, we must not be surprised that Europe is de-Christianising. But it is not the fault of the Muslims.”