The president of the Bishops Conference, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, and the President of the Ministers of the Turingia Land presented in Berlin on November 19 the new “Maximilian Kolbe Foundation for Reconciliation based on the power of memory”. The foundation has a budget of approximately 1.1 million euro which will serve to finance “exemplary projects in Europe which will contribute to identifying the consequences of injustice and violence to the benefit of the implementation of renewed peaceful coexistence”, the charter affirms. This initiative will benefit the victims of acts of violence, war, expulsion and totalitarianism and relative relief groups. The foundation intends to bring people together independently of their religion, confession or ideologies through personal meetings within the framework of reconciliation throughout Europe. Major totalitarian societies of the XX century brought serious, material and spiritual catastrophes which are still felt today”, the Cardinal declared. “A critical and self-critical view of history as also of reconciliation amongst nations and within nations are the long-standing commitments of Europe”, he affirmed. “The history of injustice and suffering can’t be cancelled. A review of past events should focus on the victims of injustice. It is not just of matter of material compensations but also of recognizing suffering from a human perspective”, the Cardinal pointed out. The new foundation is not only addressed to Germany. “When we talk of the internal construction of Europe and of the moral point of reference for the future of our continent, it’s increasingly important for the Church to give its contribution within the different Countries”, Cardinal Lehmann explained. In fact the new Foundation presently enjoys the active cooperation of the Church along with Polish and German Catholics. “In the future however, also Bishops conferences and organizations from other countries will give their contribution” with the purpose of transforming the Maximilian Kolbe foundation in a “European reconciliation network”.
