No country has the right to lecture to Poland on the principles of democracy because Poland has done the most for maintaining democracy in Europe, a German cardinal has said, according to a report.

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller pictured as he celebrates Mass in the Polish town of Myszyniec in 2012. Photo: Jolanta Dyr [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Speaking at an international conference in Poland, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller said on Thursday that “no nation can be a teacher of others in Europe” and that “no European institution can impose its values on others,” Poland’s dziennik.pl online newspaper reported.

Mueller, who served as the Roman Catholic Church’s Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017, told the conference that “there is an ongoing attack on countries that are working to re-Christianise the continent,” dziennik.pl reported.

Such “attacks” are being driven by “Marxist ideology," which "denies all those principles that lay at the foundation of Europe,” Mueller was quoted as saying during the 2nd International Europa Christi Congress.

“First, they wanted to destroy Catholic Ireland in this way, now Poland is the main target of these circles,” Mueller said, as quoted by dziennik.pl.

He argued that Poland was being targeted through actions such as "teaching Poland about the principles of democracy," while he said “Poland is the European country which has done the most for democracy, for freedom, for the self-determination of the nation, for the dignity of the human being.”

Mueller also said that “Poland has suffered the most and fought the most throughout its history.”

He referred to the period when Poland was under foreign rule for 123 years until 1918, partitioned between three invading powers, Russia, Austria and Prussia.

He said: “Poland was divided, there were partitions, but the Polish soul was not affected. Today's attack on Poland is worse because back then only the body was torn apart. Today the aim is to deal a deadly blow to the Polish soul.

“The inner coordinates of Christian Poland are to be destroyed."

Referring to Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who is now a top European Union official, Mueller said: “If I were Donald Tusk and had some say in Europe, instead of instructing Poland, I would teach everyone in the European Parliament to say one phrase in Polish: 'Thank you'—Thank you Poland for what you have done in Europe."

Christians from across Central and Eastern Europe in September debated the future of the Church, Poland and Europe at a conference in the central-western Polish city of Gniezno. The event was held under the motto “Europe – A Land of the Free. The Inspirational Power of Christianity.”

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last month told Catholic leaders from 45 countries that Poland's tradition of solidarity was the country's gift to Europe.

(gs/pk)

Source: dziennik.pl