After such a word, a closing statement is actually superfluous, but I would like to do so, Your Royal Highness, honoured guests, to say a word of congratulations on behalf of the archdiocese, all the bishops, indeed the entire Catholic Church in Bavaria, which supports this academy.
Of course, the Academy is free to decide on the winner, but I am kept informed and I was very pleased that they chose the right winner.
I.
So a closing word or a "mission statement" from me, you could say. Duke Franz has given us a certain "mission statement" to take with us and that's how closing words should actually be. We've heard a lot about art today; I'm not as well versed in it as Father Mennekes and Duke Franz. But I am a lover of art in all its facets, including music, by the way. And that's why I think I can only add to the appreciation of Duke Franz's overall personality in the sense of "What actually makes you a Christian, a human being?" I am not looking into your inner self, but would simply like to mention a few points that are perhaps also an example for all of us. If someone has already lived such a long life and hopefully still has many years ahead of them, then they may also set an example to others of how to do this successfully, as they say today. And that includes, and I sensed this again and again in the conversations: curiosity and openness. This is not only important for art, but also for being a Christian.
Cardinal Basil Hume, a Benedictine abbot, wrote the beautiful book "Seeking God" about the life and work of monks. A person who seeks God? Perhaps we should learn not to explain too much about who God is, but to seek him with curiosity and openness. And perhaps this is where art and religion meet. You could say that when archaic rituals were first celebrated, a few sketches were also painted on the cave walls. Art and religion are coextensive. There is no religion without art and there is no art without the search for the plus, for the more, for the other. And I think Herzog Franz has combined this well; that's my impression. Curiosity and openness - irrepressible curiosity. As we have just heard, he is still curious today, even if he may no longer fully grasp artificial intelligence (like me). But he won't stop reading articles about it and studying it closely, and he expects the Academy to keep at it. Staying on top of the issues that are important today.
II.
And a second thought - this has also become visible, I'll call it empathy and sensitivity. I remember phone calls during the refugee crisis in 2015, for example, where you, dear Herzog, said: "So I'm really thinking, do I have to say something again? What does that look like? What can we do for the refugees? How can we get something going?" A sensitivity for the poor. A person who comes from such a large family, who for many people is one of the high nobility, has never lost his heart for ordinary people. I always felt that, also in my encounters and especially in my commitment to the poor. Looking at the social side is part of being a Christian, of being human. We have seen a list of his commitments. Margaret Thatcher said that there is no such thing as society. That is foolish. There is society, civil society. It is an essential part of our lives. The state is one thing, but a living society is another: one that organises itself, that advances itself, that produces art, that produces social activities, that goes into each other, that goes together and that people never - as you said - go it alone.
There is no such thing as being human in isolation, there is no such thing as the subject in itself, there is only ever the we and the I together. This is a concept of the Christian view of humanity. Empathy and sensitivity, as Romano Guardini also lived it, although he was not so active socially and politically; but he sensed what was going on in the world. Sometimes I pick up his book in which he writes about the meaning of melancholy. We Westphalians are also a bit like "sentimental oaks", as Heinrich Heine said. That's not the case with Duke Franz, but he is very sensitive to the fractures and challenges in the world.
The way he interpreted the picture behind me, you all sensed it: only someone who is highly sensitive to the times and looks at the wounds of the world can do that. And the last thing for a Christian, for a human being, a "mission statement" so to speak, is for us: serenity and confidence. At a certain age, you might also think further ahead. Duke Franz certainly does. But he does it with serenity and confidence.
My old local priest said something very nice: "The older Father Placidus got, the kinder God became." Father Placidus was of course an invention, but a good one.
III.
And I think that also applies to your testimony in the church. We have spoken about this time and again. Recently - this is also an anecdote, but it's true - we attended an opera performance together at Nymphenburg Palace. During the interval, I said: "Your Royal Highness, the pandemic is over now. How about the 'old powers' showing that the pandemic really is over? Let's go to the opera together." So that's what we did. And we sat in his box and watched the opera. The whole time I was a bit depressed by the whole situation in the church and also sad. And he said: "Mr Cardinal, there will be other times." He comforted me in the box. Thank you in retrospect for doing that and for your confidence. Not looking away, seeing things, not avoiding them, but then not giving up. And that's where I think you are a good inspirer and a helper and friend to the community of faith.
Faith is a discreet matter for you, but one that is lived in faithfulness. And I think that's great. That is an example for many people. The certainty that in all the turbulence, in all the ups and downs of the history of the Church, you have the hope that what this man from Nazareth gave us will not end. And that we will continue to work on walking this path together.
And art will be important here: Alterity! Johann Baptist Metz has a beautiful word that always accompanies me in defining religion: interruption! You could also say that about art: interruption of the purposeful by that which is of no use but has a meaning, as we have just heard. Guardini taught us this quite well: alterity and interruption.
Thank you for your testimony! Thank you for what you give us in the ever-changing personal encounters. Thank you for what you have done for this Academy. Please continue to accompany us with your encouragement and prayers for a long time to come. Thank you!
