Catholic Answers —
Cardinal Schönborn, Live!
— Host Jerry Usher welcomes Cardinal
to national talk-radio show
(June 7, 2002)
On Friday, June 7, Jerry Usher, host of the popular Catholic
radio program, Catholic Answers, Live!, came to Thomas Aquinas
College to feature Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop
of Vienna, Austria, on its live national talk radio program.
The show was heard over 59 radio stations affiliated with
the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) from 3:00-4:00
p.m. PDT across the country.
Following are some excerpts from the program, edited for
the website edition.
 USHER:
Your Eminence, if you would begin by giving us a picture of
the Church in Austria and across Europe. What's the state
of the Church in your country and on your continent?
SCHÖNBORN: Well, Austria is a traditionally Catholic
country. A large majority of the population is Catholic. It
used to be 85 percent Catholic. It's now down to around 50
percent in Vienna where I'm Archbishop. The percentage of
Catholics has decreased a lot in the last few years.
But there are also clear signs of new blossoming in our country.
We have, of course, many beautiful churches, monasteries,
Baroque buildings, and Baroque music - beautiful church
music. Therefore, the liturgy is much cultivated in our country.
And our Church life is still very much alive, even though
religious practice, as compared to your country, is fairly
low. I hope it will increase. It has slightly increased in
the last two years and I hope it will continue to do so.
USHER:Pope John Paul II repeatedly refers to the need
for a "new evangelization." What does he mean by
that and how do you see this unfolding in the coming years.
SCHÖNBORN: I see it, first of all, on a very
personal level. We are not born Christians; we become Christians
through Baptism. We need, all our life, conversion, because
the Gospel of Our Lord is a call to conversion and this is
true for every Christian. So, the first element of the new
evangelization is the need for my own conversion, of my own
turning back to the Lord, coming back to His Gospel, and changing
my heart, asking the Holy Spirit to change my heart.
And this is especially necessary, I think, in countries like
Austria, where the Catholic faith has been the tradition,
but where it also needs to be renewed. And not only on an
individual level, but also on the level of a nation. I think
Austria is a good example of a country that needs the new
evangelization. And, in fact, we are trying to do it, for
instance, through missions that will take place next year
all over Vienna - promoting a new Catholic mission within
an old Catholic place.
USHER: Some people believe that the re-evangelization
of Europe may spring from the faith in North America, a sort
of reversal of what took place when the faith came from Europe
to the Americas.
 SCHÖNBORN:
I think there's something very true in that. Many renewal
movements come actually from the United States. But not only
from your country. We see new evangelization coming from the
so-called Third World - from Africa, Asia, Latin America.
This is a fantastic phenomenon going on through the whole
world, which is unobserved in our countries, in the richer
parts of the world - an intense missionary activity, for example,
within Africa - Africans going to other African countries;
Africans going to Latin America; Latin Americans going to
Asia. There is an intense exchange of missionaries throughout
the so-called Third World with the young churches. And, I
think, we should spend time looking on that new phenomenon,
which encourages us to be ourselves missionaries.
USHER: Our Holy Father also refers to a phrase, "the
new springtime." What do you understand that phrase to
mean?
SCHÖNBORN: Well, it's what Blessed Pope John
XXIII said - that he expects a new Pentecost over the Church
and over the World, a "new springtime." To be honest,
I think that the Church has always known all the four seasons
at the same time. There are always elements of fall and winter,
and elements of springtime and summertime in the Church. So
many religious orders in our countries are dying out and they
have given so much good to the Church and to the World. But
now they are dying; it's a time of fall and winter.
But, on the other hand, so many religious communities are
growing, and fast-growing some of them - signs of springtime.
I think the Church is always living under death and life;
they are always fighting in the Church. And, therefore, it's
not always only springtime, and it's never always winter.
USHER: You were the primary editor of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church. Talk about the importance of teaching
tools like the Catechism to help bring out renewal within
the Church.
SCHÖNBORN:It was certainly a great, great blessing
for the Church when, in '85, the Synod of Bishops asked the
Holy Father to produce the Catechism for the Catholic Church.
And it was a great blessing to be on board in the preparation
of this great book, this great tool for the new evangelization,
for the catechesis in the Church. It was urgently needed,
because there was so much confusion. And there still is much
confusion. But now, everybody can take the Catechism, read
the Catechism, and see what the Catholic Church really teaches
about all important matters.
 USHER:
Your Eminence, I know that in your Diocese, there were some
clergy abuse problems that seem to be well behind you now.
But the faith of many Catholics in this country right now
has been shaken because of some of the situations that have
been going on. If you would, speak to this issue.
SCHÖNBORN: It is certainly a challenge for each
of us to go through the kind of difficult times as you are
going through in this country, as we had to go through in
Austria some years ago. If it serves to convert our hearts,
it's not up to me as a single person to judge my brother,
my sister. Our Lord was very clear about that. He condemns
sin, but never condemns the sinner. And He always encourages
us to have compassion for those who failed.
On the other hand, what helped us a lot in our country was
to make sure and clear that every single case of abuse is
really taken very seriously, because it's such a deep wound
for the victims, and so often a wound that is often for life
and is so great that we Christians cannot comprehend how grave
the consequences of such abuses really are.
And therefore, in our archdiocese we created an Ombudsman,
a priest who has the trust of many people in our country,
and who with a group of advisors, immediately investigates
every single accusation and makes sure that victims are helped
and that nothing is missed through negligence. You will overcome
this crisis in your country, I'm sure, with God's help. But
it must also be clear that this is certainly one of the worst
forms of misconduct that can happen in the Church or anywhere.
USHER: Your Eminence, I want to get your thoughts
on our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. He's arguably one of
the most loved Popes in the history of the Church. He has
at his disposal all the modern means of technology, travel,
communication and so forth, and he has taken full advantage
of that. Share for a couple of minutes from your heart what
this Holy Father means to you.
SCHÖNBORN: Well, from the very beginning of his
Pontificate, when he was elected, it was a great, great surprise
that a Polish cardinal had been elected. It was an immense
joy for me as an Austrian. His father had served in the Austrian
army in the time of the monarchy. He has always had a very
close link to Austria, a deep love for our country.
But in the many occasions I have had to meet the Holy Father,
I have always most admired the depth of his prayer life. You
cannot doubt this if you see this man, if you observe him
during Mass, if you are close to him in different circumstances.
You have the impression that this is a man who is plunged
into God. He's living with Christ in such a deep way. And
all he does stems from this deep union with Christ and with
His Mother, with Mary, his deep trust in Mary. So, this is
what impresses me, that he's a man of prayer as we rarely
have seen a man, and, I think, that's the great source of
his immense impact throughout the entire world.
USHER: It's my thought that it could be decades before
we truly unpack what Pope John Paul II has given to the Church.
What do you sense will be his legacy?
SCHÖNBORN: Yes, I think many of his writings
are seeds that are sown in the soil of the Church today, and
many of these seeds have already begun to grow. I think of
all the institutions that are working to advance his sense
of things. And I think, especially, of his teaching on the
Gospel of Life, which is so dear to his heart, and which has
been one of the main things he has emphasized during all these
years of his Pontificate - the Gospel of Life in a world in
which so much of the culture of death is at work. To announce,
to believe, and to live the Gospel of Life, I think, that
is one of the main inheritances we have received from him.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Summer 2002
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