Pope on European Decline

The Pope recently expressed great concern for the future of Europe.

It appears, the Holy Father said, “that the European continent is losing confidence in its future.” As a result, he said, the European Union “seems to be on a path that might lead to its twilight in history.”

. . .

he crisis . . . has been created by the failure to embrace the spiritual and cultural heritage of their continent. His speech reflected his dismay that the Rome Declaration, issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rome treaty, did not mention the influence of Christianity.

. . .

f the European Union is to play a credible role in the 21st century, the Pope argued, it can only do so with the “spark” supplied by its cultural and spiritual heritage. Scolding the government leaders who failed to recognize that patrimony, the Pontiff asked, “how can they exclude from Europe’s identity an essential element like Christianity in which a vast majority continues to identify themselves?”

. . .

“A community that is built without respect for the authentic dignity of human beings, that forgets that each person is created in God’s image, ends up not doing any one any good,” the Pope said.

Read the whole article at Catholic World News.

Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .