Bishop in an interview – What does Christmas tell us about God and the world?

“Kron”: Advent and Christmas represent contemplation. However, many find the time particularly hectic. A bishop also has many appointments around the big festival. How do you relax?
Bishop Hermann Glettler: Not an easy question. There is no point in being outraged by the unrest. Yes, I also fight for places and times without a cell phone, appointments or program points. Interruption is healing. Being constantly in availability mode increases the nervousness of our times. The result is that we become more and more irritated, but notice it less and less. My suggestion is ten minutes of silence a day. This is a gift for yourself and others. And God can discover. For me, the chapel in the Bishop’s House is a refuge to which I retreat from time to time.

Christmas is also the festival of peace. But there has been war in many parts of the world, including in the Holy Land since October. Can we ever find peace for all?
Yes I hope so. Given the many war zones, we experience great helplessness. This makes it all the more important to end all the petty wars in your own area. Forgiving each other is important. Palestinian peace mediator Sumaya Farhat-Naser, who has worked with Israeli and Palestinian women for decades, recommends daily cleansing of the heart. She calls on us not to give room to hatred and revenge in the spirit of Bethlehem. Peace becomes possible when we give space to the fears and suffering of others within us. Our shared humanity obliges us.

In Tyrol, many families suffer from high prices. Aid organizations such as Caritas also report this. Housing shortages pose a real threat. What do you want from politics?
Yes, housing has become outrageously expensive, people often can’t afford it even though they work – that’s a catastrophe! We must reduce the alarming number of people at risk of poverty. An affordable place to live is a basic need. It’s about justice. Fortunately, the Tyrolean state government has provided a lot of support recently. But the structural question of how to reduce galloping housing costs remains open.

The topic of abortion was discussed emotionally this year. As a family bishop, you speak out against contact points in public hospitals. In Tyrol they still do not exist. But what will it take fifty years after the introduction of the term scheme?
Advice and help are paramount. No woman should feel pressured to have an abortion because of social fears or concerns about the future. The pressure from the environment can also be enormous. Support and education are needed. And we must openly identify the conflict between the fundamental right to life of a person in the early stages of development and the right to freedom of an adult. The human heart starts beating on the 21st day after fertilization. Christmas strengthens the yes to life, even though the circumstances are often not ideal.

The Christian Christmas fascinates many people, even though people have nothing to do with religion. What does Christmas tell us about God and the world?
Christmas is an alternative to the excesses of our time. Always more doesn’t make us happy. The secret of the festival is that Almighty God has made Himself incredibly small. Anyone can encounter him in the vulnerable form of the child. And pour out your heart to him. The Lord God is the “Hearing God,” as I call Him in the title of a recent collection of prayers.

Which Christmas customs fascinated you as a child?
I spontaneously think about smoking. On Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and before Epiphany. As a family we walked together through the house and stable, praying and smoking incense. We also maintain this custom in the shared apartment in the bishop’s house in Innsbruck. Almost an annual meditation in which you walk through all living spaces with gratitude and prayer. I involve many people whose concerns I try to share.