Austrian Cardinal fears an 'Islamic conquest' of Europe

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn 'prays to God to have mercy on Europe's Christian heritage'

An Austrian cardinal, thought by many to be a frontrunner for the next papacy, has claimed "many Muslims" are trying to conquer Christian Europe.



The cardinal warned the Christian heritage of Europe risked disappearing, stirring much controversy online. "Will there now be a third Islamic attempt to conquer Europe? Many Muslims think that and want that, and they say Europe is at the end,” Cardinal Christoph Schönborn said in Vienna.

Speaking at the festival of the ‘Holy Name of Mary’,  the Archbishop of Vienna called for God to show mercy on Europe and its people who "are in danger of forfeiting our Christian heritage". He said Europe's Christian heritage was already being felt as 'missing by many people'. “What is to become of Europe?” he grieved.



People took to social media to respond to the cardinal's comments. Some users seemed to agree with Schönborn’s statement. “We should live according to the Catholic faith, it is exactly what Europe needs,” one user wrote. “Not churches, but mosques... Islam brings nothing good of humanity, but oppression,” another user wrote.

However, there were those who believed that the cardinal’s statement would fuel tensions between Christians and Muslims even more. “The difference between the vast number of peaceful Muslims and radical 'Islamists' is not yet clear. Our right-wing populists are happy about this sermon. Sad,” one more user wrote.



Some angry readers sought to elicit an explanation from the cardinal regarding his concept of “Islamic conquest” of Europe. However, in his carefully-worded Facebook post, Schönborn only explained that his sermon was not calling to defend Europeans against the refugees. “The chance of a Christian revival of Europe is with us," he said, urging to "reflect on the Christ’s word and spread it to everyone, even strangers.”

This article originally appeared on RT.