2023-08-02 21:06:42
At the start of a five-day visit to Lisbon dedicated to World Youth Day (WYD), Pope Francis called on Europe to “build bridges” for peace in Ukraine. He lamented the “lack of courageous peace routes” in Europe to end the war launched by Russia, reminding the Old Continent of its role as a “bridge builder”.
“Looking with affection at Europe and the spirit of dialogue that characterizes it, one could ask it: where are you sailing towards, if you do not propose itineraries of peace, creative ways to end the war in Ukraine (…)? launched the 86-year-old pope during his first speech to the authorities and the diplomatic corps at the cultural center of Belém. The Argentinian Jesuit, who has consistently called for the silencing of the guns in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
“European dream”
In a city where the milestones for the march of the European community are “engraved”, in reference to the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, François recalled the “European dream of a multilateralism broader than the Western context alone” for “seize the slightest signals of relaxation and read between the most twisted lines”.
Faithful to the key themes of his pontificate, which began in 2013, the pope also spoke out against the scourges which, in his view, weaken the West, such as migration policies, the demographic crisis, euthanasia or the arms trade. “Where are you sailing, Europe and the West, with the rejection of the elderly, the walls with barbed wire, the tragedies at sea and the empty cradles? Where are you going if, in the face of the pain of living, you offer hasty and erroneous remedies, such as easy access to death, an easy solution which seems sweet, but which is in reality more bitter than the waters of the sea? he asserted.
A few minutes earlier, Pope Francis had spoken with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative and devout Catholic. “And I am thinking of so many sophisticated laws on euthanasia,” he added as Portugal adopted a law in May governing “medically assisted death”, thus joining the handful of European countries having legalized euthanasia or assisted suicide, with those of Benelux or neighboring Spain.
child crime
Sensitive to the issue of ecology, François also addressed the challenge of global warming, while the planet has just experienced the hottest month of July ever measured. “The oceans are overheated and, from their depths, rises to the surface the ugliness with which we have polluted the common home. We are turning these great stores of life into plastic dumps,” he lamented.
Francis also took advantage of his visit to address the delicate issue of pedocrime in the Church, six months after the publication of a shocking report by a commission of independent experts. Jorge Bergoglio spoke of “the disappointment and anger that some feel towards the Church, sometimes because of our bad witness and the scandals that have disfigured its face”. According to him, these scandals “call for a humble and constant purification, starting from the cry of pain of the victims, always to welcome and listen”.
According to the survey carried out at the request of the Portuguese bishops, at least 4,815 minors have been victims of sexual violence in a religious context since 1950, acts concealed by the hierarchy of the Church in a “systemic” way.
According to the Portuguese ecclesiastical authorities, the pope must meet in private with victims of sexual assault, but the meeting is not currently on the official program. Less than two months before the opening of a world gathering in Rome intended to reflect on the future of the Church, this event also serves as a barometer on the position of young Catholics vis-à-vis the reception of LGBT +, the marriage of priests or the place of women. So many subjects on which Francis gradually outlined reforms in 10 years of pontificate.
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