Monday, May 23, 2005
To Cardinal Sterzinsky
Dear Cardinal Sterzinsky!
My family and I have been members of this community for 18 years. The chapel has symbolized civil and religious liberty for many years in the middle of a surrounding hostile and atheistic sea, which engulfed this isle of freedom in the then West Berlin. By closing down our chapel, all this shiny period of history will be denied as Peter denied Jesus in Gethsemane. Our congregation of a large number of nationalities is the most excellent example of meeting and integrating people from all over the world, who are united by their faith in Jesus Christ. I have experienced the help of the Holy Spirit many times; our wonderful songs have raised my spirit in times of trouble; our holy masses are a living encounter with Christ. I have hardly ever experienced our faith so close and vivid as I do at All Saints. Jesus said: where two of you gather together, there I am with you. This is all the more true for All Saints where Roman Catholics have been gathering for almost 50 years, including the military history of our chapel. This church is part of Berlin's and the divided and re-united Germany's historic and religious heritage. It stands for all those who stood up against atheism, heathenism and communism, everything John Paul II fought against throughout his life and papacy. This church is a historic monument remembering those who acted and actively fought for our political and religious freedom, and many of them sacrificed their most valuable asset on this earth, their lives. A shepherd acting in Jesus' name cannot forget about all these historic facts, especially since he has himself experienced all the hardships of an oppressive, totalitarian regime.
Tamás Meggyes
http://www.all-saints-berlin.de/
My family and I have been members of this community for 18 years. The chapel has symbolized civil and religious liberty for many years in the middle of a surrounding hostile and atheistic sea, which engulfed this isle of freedom in the then West Berlin. By closing down our chapel, all this shiny period of history will be denied as Peter denied Jesus in Gethsemane. Our congregation of a large number of nationalities is the most excellent example of meeting and integrating people from all over the world, who are united by their faith in Jesus Christ. I have experienced the help of the Holy Spirit many times; our wonderful songs have raised my spirit in times of trouble; our holy masses are a living encounter with Christ. I have hardly ever experienced our faith so close and vivid as I do at All Saints. Jesus said: where two of you gather together, there I am with you. This is all the more true for All Saints where Roman Catholics have been gathering for almost 50 years, including the military history of our chapel. This church is part of Berlin's and the divided and re-united Germany's historic and religious heritage. It stands for all those who stood up against atheism, heathenism and communism, everything John Paul II fought against throughout his life and papacy. This church is a historic monument remembering those who acted and actively fought for our political and religious freedom, and many of them sacrificed their most valuable asset on this earth, their lives. A shepherd acting in Jesus' name cannot forget about all these historic facts, especially since he has himself experienced all the hardships of an oppressive, totalitarian regime.
Tamás Meggyes
http://www.all-saints-berlin.de/
