There, they sent a resounding message about the eternally strong cooperation between State and Church.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized: “Our cooperation with the Church, institutionally, was, is and remains close”. Furthermore, referring to the upcoming Holy Week, he underlined: “Entering this holy season, the Archbishop’s words about love and respect are more relevant than ever.”
Expressing his satisfaction for the great social work of the Church, the Prime Minister stated: “We look forward to the social footprint of the Church, which complements the state structures.”
The visit of Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Ieronymos to the “Evangelismos tis Theotokou” nursery school is a strong symbolic act that reinforces the message of unity and joint action between the State and the Church for the benefit of society as a whole.
The Archbishop of Athens Hieronymos was clear that the Church follows its own line and not “what Kyriakos Velopoulos or any other politician says” in his statements from Delesi, noting that “these are holy days and we should not spoil them for trifles”.
“These are holy days and we should not spoil them for trifles”, he said initially to add that “the Church calls us all to love one another, to respect one another and to fight alone and with others . What this fight is is determined by what each person believes and what they aim for. This is also our difference. He who aims at his own interest tells things from his own point of view”, said the Archbishop initially.
Afterwards, he added that “we will not do anything other than what the word of God provides, we will not follow orders and lines, nor what Kyriakos Velopoulos or any other politician says. We respect opinions, we count them and we do what God says: we love all people.”
When asked by journalists if there is a “Christian meter”, he answered, “no, never. Only love, forgiveness, fellowship and cooperation. Especially in the area of Greece, in our country, especially in these times, cooperation is essential. There are many things that separate us that make us different, but we are looking at how we can move forward with this collaboration.”
And he added: “I can’t even go to things that the Gospel doesn’t say, no matter what the prime minister says, I look at what the Gospel says. He too may have his principles. I cannot identify myself nor can you identify with personal interests or positions that tomorrow will have no value.
“There is the word of God, the Church says I do not discriminate. We must understand that there is a difference in dealing with the issues. The politician sees them differently and the believer differently. We love all people” added Archbishop Hieronymos.
“It is time to think seriously. Our country needs partners and cooperation” added Mr. Hieronymos and concluded that the Church moves “always with what the Gospel and the word of God tell us”.
He also emphasized that “we are in times that require cooperation”, while when asked if there is going to be a special circular to priests ahead of Holy Week to guard the climate of the days, he replied that “we are not going to do anything more than ,what we do every year”.
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