During his visit to the Council of Europe, Pope Francis called for "a political solution to current crises"
The temptation of conflict in a continent that has lost its drive. Francis, the first Pope from the New World points to the challenge of transversality Europe faces, in his address to the Council of Europe on behalf of the Church an “expert in humanity” according to Paul VI’s definition of it. In his meetings with “political leaders from various European countries,” he “observed that the younger politicians view reality differently than their older colleagues. They may appear to be saying the same things, but their approach is different. This is evident in younger politicians from various parties … we need to take into account this transversality encountered in every sector. To do so requires engaging in dialogue, including intergenerational dialogue,” the Pope underlined. “Were we to define the continent today, we should speak of a Europe in dialogue, one which puts a transversality of opinions and reflections at the service of a harmonious union of peoples.”
To come out of the crisis, Europe needs “new social and economic cooperation, free of ideological pressures, capable of confronting a globalized world.” Only this way can it guarantee “that sense of solidarity and mutual charity which has been a distinctive feature” of the continent. The Pope proposed a “new agorá, in which all civic and religious groups can enter into free exchange, while respecting the separation of sectors and the diversity of positions, an exchange inspired purely by the desire of truth and the advancement of the common good.” “For culture is always born of reciprocal encounter which seeks to stimulate the intellectual riches and creativity of those who take part in it; this is not only a good in itself, it is also something beautiful.”
“How many [poor] there are in our streets! They ask not only for the food they need for survival, which is the most elementary of rights, but also for a renewed appreciation of the value of their own life, which poverty obscures, and a rediscovery of the dignity conferred by work.” “Among the issues calling for our reflection and our cooperation is the defence of the environment, of this beloved planet earth. It is the greatest resource which God has given us and is at our disposal not to be disfigured, exploited, and degraded, but so that, in the enjoyment of its boundless beauty, we can live in this world with dignity.” The Pope’s hope is that “by rediscovering the legacy of its history and the depth of its roots, and by embracing its lively multipolarity and the phenomenon of a transversality in dialogue,” Europe “will rediscover that youthfulness of spirit which has made this continent fruitful and great.” Addressing representatives of the 47 countries that make up the Council of Europe, Francis called for “a constant work of humanization”. “Tragically, peace continues all too often to be violated. This is the case in so many parts of the world where conflicts of various sorts continue to fester. It is also the case here in Europe, where tensions continue to exist. How great a toll of suffering and death is still being exacted on this continent, which yearns for peace yet so easily falls back into the temptations of the past!” Hence Francis encouraged the Council of Europe “to seek a political solution to current crises is so significant and encouraging.”
“Yet peace is also put to the test by other forms of conflict, such as religious and international terrorism, which displays deep disdain for human life and indiscriminately reaps innocent victims.” “This phenomenon is unfortunately bankrolled by a frequently unchecked traffic in weapons. The Church is convinced that “the arms race is one of the greatest curses on the human race and the harm it inflicts on the poor is more than can be endured”. Peace is also violated by trafficking in human beings, the new slavery of our age, which turns persons into merchandise for trade and deprives its victims of all dignity.” “Peace is not merely the absence of war, conflicts and tensions. Peace is at once a gift of God and the fruit of free and reasonable human acts aimed at pursuing the common good in truth and love.” Francis encouraged the promotion of “human rights, together with the growth of democracy and the rule of law.” Francis used an image drawn from a twentieth-century Italian poet, Clemente Rebora, one of whose poems “describes a poplar tree, its branches reaching up to the sky, buffeted by the wind, while its trunk remains firmly planted on deep roots sinking into the earth. In a certain sense, we can consider Europe in the light of this image.”
Francis asked Europe: “Where is your vigour? Where is that idealism which inspired and ennobled your history? Where is your spirit of curiosity and enterprise? Where is your thirst for truth, a thirst which hitherto you have passionately shared with the world?” The continent’s future depends on the answers given to these questions. Francis reflected especially on “the role of the European Court of Human Rights, which in some way represents the conscience of Europe with regard to those rights.”
“I express my hope that this conscience will continue to mature, not through a simple consensus between parties, but as the result of efforts to build on those deep roots which are the bases on which the founders of contemporary Europe determined to build.” In his meetings with “political leaders from various European countries,” Francis “observed that the younger politicians view reality differently than their older colleagues. They may appear to be saying the same things, but their approach is different. This is evident in younger politicians from various parties”.
This empirical fact points to a reality of present-day Europe which cannot be overlooked in efforts to unite the continent and to guide its future: we need to take into account this transversality encountered in every sector. To do so requires engaging in dialogue, including intergenerational dialogue. Were we to define the continent today, we should speak of a Europe in dialogue, one which puts a transversality of opinions and reflections at the service of a harmonious union of peoples,” the Pope explained. “In Europe’s present political situation, merely internal dialogue between the organizations (whether political, religious or cultural) to which one belongs, ends up being unproductive.” “Our times demand the ability to break out of the structures which “contain” our identity and to encounter others, for the sake of making that identity more solid and fruitful in the fraternal exchange of transversality. A Europe which can only dialogue with limited groups stops halfway; it needs that youthful spirit which can rise to the challenge of transversality.”
