Pope to Europe: Accept immigrants, create jobs
27 Nov 2014 12:46 AM GMT
Francis outlined his vision for the continent in a pair of speeches to the European Parliament and Council of Europe a quarter-century after St. John Paul II travelled to Strasbourg to address a continent still divided by the Iron Curtain.
Greeted with polite applause at the start of his speech and a sustained standing ovation at its finish, Francis said he wanted to bring a message of hope to Europeans distrustful of their institutions, burdened by economic crisis and spiritually adrift in a culture that he said no longer values the dignity of human beings.
‘A Europe which is no longer open to the transcendent dimension of life is a Europe which risks slowly losing its own soul,’ he said. He called for Europe to find its footing once again, saying it had once been driven by an ‘insatiable thirst’ for knowledge, peace and unity. Specifically, Francis called for legislators to promote policies that create jobs and accept immigrants.
Greeted with polite applause at the start of his speech and a sustained standing ovation at its finish, Francis said he wanted to bring a message of hope to Europeans distrustful of their institutions, burdened by economic crisis and spiritually adrift in a culture that he said no longer values the dignity of human beings.
‘A Europe which is no longer open to the transcendent dimension of life is a Europe which risks slowly losing its own soul,’ he said. He called for Europe to find its footing once again, saying it had once been driven by an ‘insatiable thirst’ for knowledge, peace and unity. Specifically, Francis called for legislators to promote policies that create jobs and accept immigrants.
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