Status: 11/04/2022 5:23 p.m
A cross was hung for the G7 meeting in the Peace Hall in Münster. The Union and the Church criticize this sharply. The Foreign Office announced that Minister Baerbock was not involved in the decision.
A suspended cross at the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in the Peace Hall in Münster triggered a debate. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the cross had been removed as part of a redesign of the hall for the G7 ministerial meeting. The remodel would have included different furniture, lighting and carpeting.
This was an agreement between the minutes of the foreign office and the city of Münster. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) was not concerned with this question. There was “no decision at the political level,” emphasized the spokesman.
“The decision should not have been made like this”
The mayor of Münster, Markus Lewe (CDU), regretted the hanging of the cross. The city of Münster did everything possible to ensure that the conference ran smoothly and, at the request of the Federal Foreign Office, took down the cross for the time of the G7 meeting. “This decision should not have been made and I regret it,” said Lewe. “My impression is that the Foreign Minister was also surprised.”
For centuries, the cross has belonged to the Hall of Peace and thus to the history and culture of the place where documents of the Peace of Westphalia were signed in 1648. “The Christian cross is a sign of reconciliation,” emphasized Lewe.
The “Westfälische Nachrichten” had reported, citing the city, that the Foreign Ministry had justified its request with the fact that people with different religious backgrounds would take part in the meeting. At the request of the epd news agency, a spokesman for the city did not want to confirm this in the afternoon.
The Hall of Peace in Münster with the historic council cross.
Image: dpa
Union sees “foundation of values” violated by action
Sharp criticism of hanging the cross came from the Union. The parliamentary director of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei, accused the federal government of having forgotten tradition and history. The Christian image of man is the common basis of the liberal and constitutional democracies of the G7 states, Frei told the Welt television channel.
The culture-political spokeswoman for the Union faction, Christiane Schenderlein, told the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post” that the action had violated the foundation of values that must be the basis for political decisions. “This means that our cultural identity is being deliberately denied in the eyes of the rest of the world,” said Schenderlein. The cross does not stand for arrogance, “but for the invitation to connect people with each other”. The cross in the Peace Hall in Münster dates back to 1540, and council members are sworn in before the cross.
Measure is “incomprehensible” for diocese
The diocese of Münster described the measure in a statement as “incomprehensible”. Traditions and symbols associated with them, which are an expression of values, attitudes and religious convictions, cannot simply be “hanged out”.
The conference of G7 foreign ministers met on Thursday and Friday in Münster’s historic town hall. Foreign Minister Baerbock invited the participants because Germany holds the G7 presidency this year.