Catholic bishops from the European Union marked 30 years since the breaching of the Berlin Wall with tributes to those who worked for peaceful change, as well as warnings against resurgent âideologies behind the building of walls.â
âThe fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most important events in European history of the last decades, a moment full of emotion,â the Commission of the Bishopsâ Conferences of the European Union, or COMECE, said in a November 6 statement. âBut not all the expectations that the fall of the wall brought forth have been fulfilled. It is also true that the ideologies behind building the wall have not fully disappeared in Europe and are still present today in different forms.â
The statement said the Berlin Wall had symbolised âthe ideological division of Europe and the whole world,â adding that its breaching during mass protests November 9, 1989, had âopened the way for regaining freedomâ after communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe.
âHaving been separated by a concrete wall for more than 28 years, people â relatives, friends and neighbours â living in the same city were able to meet each other, celebrate and express their joy and hopes. From this moment the world looked different,â said the document, signed by representatives of 26 bishopsâ conferences.
âWe acknowledge the process of healing and reconciliation is delicate and difficult. Even today, for some of the victims of the oppressive regimes of the past, this process is far from completed. ⌠Yet we want to revive and foster those signs of hope, those expectations for a better future that guided that historic moment.â
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With thanks to Catholic News Service (CNS), where this article originally appeared.