In a major speech on Europe the leader of the Catholic church called for the bloc to “recover the sense of being a single community” in order to prosper.
Pope Francis spoke at the end of a two-day conference at the Vatican called “Re-Thinking Europe” revealing he has major concerns for the future of the bloc.
He spoke out in front of European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, the vice president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and religious leaders as Spain imposed direct rule on Catalonia, for declaring independence.
While the pope did not specifically mention the situation in Catalonia, where the region’s leaders want to break away from Spain, or Britain’s decision to leave the EU, he spoke often of solidarity, teamwork and mutual sacrifice.
He said: “A European Union that, in facing its crises, fails to recover a sense of being a single community that sustains and assists its members – and not just a collection of small interest groups – would miss out not only on one of the greatest challenges of its history, but also on one of the greatest opportunities for its own future.”
“Particular and nationalist agendas risk thwarting the courageous dreams of the founders of Europe.”
Francis appeared to warn against the dangers to Europe posed by populist anti-immigrant parties, which are becoming more popular.
In Austria, Sebastian Kurz was elected leader and is expected to form a coalition including the far-right Freedom Party (FPO).
In Germany in September, Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured almost 13 percent of the vote, making it the third largest party and the first far-right party to win seats in more than half a century.
“Extremist and populist groups are finding fertile ground in many countries; they make protest the heart of their political message, without offering the alternative of a constructive political project,” Francis said, without naming any group.
The first Latin American pope said politics had often gone astray.
He said: “Sadly, all too often we see how politics is becoming instead a forum for clashes between opposing forces.”
Tajani, the European Parliament president, spoke of “risk of a return to intolerance and xenophobia”.
The pope called for immigrants to be welcomed to Europe as an enriching resource, rather than be seen as a threat.
But, in an apparent assertion that immigration had to be controlled, he said that while authorities should have an “open heart” they should be able to “provide for the full integration, on the social, economic and political level” of newcomers.