Walter Kasper Quotes
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The Bible understands mercy as God’s own justice. Mercy is the heart of the biblical message, not by undercutting justice, but by surpassing it. The Old Testament speaks of God as a gracious and merciful God (Exod 34:6; Ps 86:15; etc.) and the New Testament calls God “the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation” (2 Cor 1:3; cf. Eph 2:4).
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Islam developed in opposition to orthodox Christianity from the very start, and it considers itself superior to Christianity. So far, it has only been tolerant in places where it is in the minority.
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The world today is closer together and adherents of non-Christian religions live among us. In this situation, for the sake of understanding and peaceful coexistence, it is necessary to take a look over the fence of our own cultural context into the world of religions. In the process, we ascertain that compassion and beneficence are not restricted to our cultural context, but rather are universal human and primordial religious phenomena.
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Islam in the Arab world coexists with Indonesian, Pakistani and Turkish Islam. There is limited solidarity, even within the Arab world.
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Islam undoubtedly deserves respect. It has some things in common with Christianity, such as Abraham as a common progenitor, and the belief in only one God.
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There is no such thing as one Islam. The Koran is ambiguous and Islam is not a monolithic entity.
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The conflict with Islam has, after all, existed throughout European history.
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Only a Europe that is conscious of its own values can be both an economically strong and a morally and intellectually respected partner, and thereby extend its hospitality to others. It's a cultural disgrace that we are forced to identify no-go areas for foreigners.
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For I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath” (Hos 11:9). That is an astounding statement. It says: God’s holiness, his Being Wholly Other, in contradistinction to everything human, is disclosed not in his righteous anger, not even in his inscrutable and inaccessible transcendence. God’s being God is revealed in his mercy. Mercy is the expression of his divine essence.
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The new pastoral style, which John XXIII intended, has much to do with what he said during his opening speech, when he spoke about the medicine of mercy. Since that time, the theme of mercy has become fundamental not only for the council, but also for the entire pastoral praxis of the postconciliar church.
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His self-emptying is the revelation of his omnipotence in love.
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The scientific and societal achievements of the modern age are undisputable. But after the French Revolution, modernity increasingly emancipated itself from Christian roots, thereby becoming rootless itself.
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According to the basic convictions of every religion, the connection of religion with violence represents, therefore, a misunderstanding, a misuse, and an aberrant form of authentic religion.
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To believe in love and to make it the embodiment and sum of our understanding of existence has far–reaching, indeed revolutionary consequences for our image of God, for our self–understanding and for our life praxis, for ecclesial praxis and for our conduct in the world. Love, which is proven in mercy, can and must become the foundation of a new culture for our lives, the church, and for society.
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Europe sees itself as a liberal-minded society. It has no desire to be, nor can it be, a "Christian club".
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So in the act of giving, we distinguish ourselves from ourselves. In giving, we give ourselves and still remain ourselves.
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The distinction between radical Islam and moderate Muslims is important, as are the differences between Sunnis and Shiites, and between militant and mystical Islam.
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A Europe that qualifies its own values is not attractive in the eyes of Muslims. Europe must conduct itself as a strong partner, both intellectually and spiritually, and it must be convinced of its own advantages. This is the only way we will gain respect.
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The end of World War I also marked the end of bourgeois culture. An inner emptiness developed that, in the 19th and 20th centuries, paved the way for two ideologies that dragged Europe and the world into an abyss and plunged it into a catastrophe.
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Europe's experiment with multiculturalism, or the side-by-side existence of different cultures, has failed throughout the continent. Integration requires a minimum basis of shared values, that is, a culture of mutual tolerance and respect - in other words, what constitutes the heart of European culture.
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Christianity brought something new and revolutionary: freedom and unconditional dignity for each individual, regardless of his religion, culture or nationality. But the East and the West have parted ways since the Crusades.
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Where it is the majority religion, Islam does not recognize religious freedom, at least not as we understand it. Islam is a different culture. This doesn't mean that it's an inferior culture, but it is a culture that has yet to connect with the positive sides of our modern Western culture: religious freedom, human rights and equal rights for women.
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Those who are unprepared to demonstrate tolerance cannot expect or even demand tolerance for themselves.
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The fundamental issue, when it comes to Europe's future, will be whether and how we manage to transfer the ideals that once made Europe great - especially its Christian roots - into today's changed world. No one wants to return to the Middle Ages.