Archbishop of Albania: ‘We have to re-examine humanity’s priorities’

The archbishop of Albania is a special man. I wanted very much to get him to speak after his ordeal with the coronavirus, because I knew his thoughts and words would be anything but trivial.

He describes his feelings as he was placed in the "capsule" to be transported from Albania to Athens. He addresses himself to those who, even today, dispute the existence of the virus. He talks about the immense changes it will bring, starting by observing that "the pandemic made a mockery of all the defenses of the powerful of the Earth."

He does evade the question of the rift between Church and science - quite the contrary - and he notes that "polarization is a form of conceit and decadence."

A small confession: When I was going through the same ordeal, at the same hospital, Anastasios was one of the very few people I got a chance to talk to. Maybe because I was...