Ben Rosen January 9, 2017
In
1957, six European nations agreed on a single economic market that laid
the groundwork for the European Union, bringing together a continent
that in the previous decade had been shattered by total war.
On Monday, some sixty years after those six countries signed Treaty of Rome,
Pope Francis reminded diplomats of the agreement’s importance as he called for a new European humanism.
“Europe as a whole is experiencing a
decisive moment in
its history, one in which it is called to rediscover its proper
identity. This requires recovering its roots in order to shape its
future,” said the pope in the annual papal “state of the world” address.
“In
response to currents of divisiveness, it is all the more urgent to
update the idea of Europe, so as to give birth to a new humanism based
on the capacity to integrate, dialogue and generate that made the Old
Continent great,” he said.
Pope
France’s annual foreign policy speech comes, as he noted in his
address, at a time when Europe is in the midst of a migrant crisis, the
threat of religious-inspired violence, and a shakeup through Brexit. The
pope’s speech represents another effort on his part to urge peace and
reconciliation in Europe and abroad.
The
process of European unification "continues to be a unique opportunity
for stability, peace and solidarity between peoples," he said. "On this
occasion, I can only reaffirm the interest and concern of the Holy See
for Europe and its future, conscious that the values that were the
inspiration and basis of that project, which this year celebrates its
60th anniversary, are values common to the entire continent and
transcend the borders of the European Union itself."
The pope’s call for unity in Europe comes just months before Britain is expect to begin the formal process of
withdrawing from the EU. Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May has said
she will invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March.
Speaking
in front of diplomats from 180 countries in the Vatican on Monday, the
pope also denounced “fundamentalists-inspired terrorism” in 2016,
listing attacks by Islamist militants in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the
United States.
He
called such violence “homicidal madness, which misuses God’s name in
order to disseminate death, in a play for domination and power,” and
urged religious and political leaders to play their part in stopping it.
The pope said such violence is “spiritual poverty” often borne out of
material poverty. He said religious leaders should preach God’s message
of love and peace and political leaders should ensure economic
opportunities for young people.
In
addition to safety, “government leaders are also responsible for
ensuring that conditions do not exist that can serve as fertile terrain
for the spread of forms of fundamentalism.”
Pope
Francis’s speech is in line with his past remarks on Islamic extremism,
nuclear weapons, and even the proliferation of fake news. Last month,
the pope said that both the creation and spread of fake news
is a sin, urging the media to do its part to stop it.
"The communications media
have a very great responsibility.
Nowadays they have in their hands the possibility and the capacity to
form opinion: they can form a good or a bad opinion," the pope said in
an interview with Belgian Catholic weekly, Tertio. He added,
"Disinformation is probably the greatest damage that the media can do,
as opinion is guided in one direction, neglecting the other part of the
truth."
This warning wasn’t directed at just the media, but also those who post or repost harmful stories through social media.
Yahoo News
