Cardinal: Christians must remain universalists

Cardinal Marx: Church is for everyone - not just for Christians

Cathcon: the Church is for salvation

A church in itself is a heresy: Cardinal Reinhard Marx from Munich emphasizes that Christians must remain universalists. "If we give that up, we haven't lived the core of Christianity."

Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx often misses seeing the bigger picture in the churches. "A church in itself, that's heresy," in other words false teaching, he said at a conference on political Christianity at the Evangelical Academy in Tutzing over the weekend: "Only one community that says we are there for everyone, only one Church can have political relevance."

The sentence "All people remain brothers and sisters" is central for him, the archbishop continued: "If we give that up, we have not lived the core of Christianity." Christians must remain universalists.

"Painful Process of Self-Assurance"

In view of the many exits, however, the question also arises for the churches: "How can a minority say something for everyone?" The next few decades would be "a very painful process of Christianity's self-assurance". The Cardinal was convinced that the church could also spread its message as a minority. To do this, however, she must be able to make it clear: "The kingdom of God is now!"

Marx spoke at an event in honor of the Protestant regional Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, who will hand over his office to his successor Christian Kopp in the autumn.

Source

Cathcon: In Christian theology, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism, or in context simply universalism) is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ultimately be reconciled to God.  It is a heresy.  Cardinal Marx cannot have been innocent in his use of the word which goes well beyond the sense of charity.