Modern society, regardless of religious belief, needs to seek solutions to environmental problems - Cardinal Joachim Meisner

August 22, Braslav / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Modern society, regardless of religious beliefs, needs to seek solutions to environmental problems. This point of view was expressed in a conversation with a BELTA correspondent by Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Metropolitan of Cologne. He is taking part in the celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of the Braslav Mother of God icon and today in Braslav placed the crowns consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI on the image revered by Catholics. "The environmental problem is a theological problem," the cardinal believes. In his opinion, humanity's renunciation of faith in God contributed to the consumer attitude towards the surrounding world prevailing in modern society. "Man must strive upwards vertically towards God, and if he renounces God, he develops horizontally and exploits everything around him," the clergyman explained. The cardinal noted that the coronation is a very important sign. "A people who are under the protection of a crowned icon are a crowned people," he said. Joachim Meisner is visiting Belarus for the first time and already feels at home here. "Braslav reminds me of my homeland, the city of Breslau, and the elderly women of Braslav are very much like my mother," the clergyman sincerely admitted. The Metropolitan of Cologne was one of the cardinals who participated in the 2005 Papal Conclave, which elected Pope Benedict XVI. -0-