Austria – Cardinal Christoph Schönborn said a few days ago “will there be a third Islamic attempt to conquer Europe? Many Muslims think this and wish this and say that Europe is at its end.” But later he issued a clarification and said that if Europe’s Christian heritage is “in danger”, it is not because of Muslims, but because “we Europeans have squandered it”.
“One must not take my homily to be a call to defend ourselves against the refugees, this was not at all my intention. The opportunity for a Christian renewal of Europe lies in our hands: if we look at and come to Christ, spread his gospel and deal with our fellow men, strangers included, as he has taught us, in love and responsibility,” Cardinal Schönborn said. “It is clear that many Islamists would like to take advantage of our weakness, but they are not responsible for it. We are.”
Last spring the Cardinal said that there was a need for Muslim immigrants to integrate European societies, noting the differences between democracies and many Middle Eastern countries, “we must make these differences quite clear to Muslims when they come. They must understand and accept that.”
