Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has called for people not to lose confidence in the future, despite all the crises. The problems are big – rarely is the turn of the year “associated with as much uncertainty as this year,” said the Viennese Archbishop in his traditional ORF New Year’s Eve address, referring to the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, with a view to national debt and the ongoing coalition negotiations. Even a nuclear escalation is conceivable – all of this leads to a lot of fear and uncertainty.
In view of this, Schönborn recalled the doctor, psychotherapist and concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) and his motto “Say yes to life anyway.” From an “attitude of trust” it is possible to discover something good or meaning even in situations that seem hopeless. In this respect, trust is an “attitude against the tide, against pessimism”. It can be cultivated through compassion and the human ability to empathize with the suffering of other people. “This compassion and ability to empathize creates a community of solidarity” that one can actively decide on: “We can decide on this – very consciously: I want to be a bridge builder of peace.”
This was also Cardinal Schönborn’s last ORF New Year’s Eve address as Archbishop of Vienna. Schönborn turns 80 on January 22nd. On January 18th, the cardinal celebrates his farewell as Archbishop of Vienna with a thanksgiving service in St. Stephen’s Cathedral and a subsequent celebration on Stephansplatz. A successor has not yet been appointed.
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