During a statement on the subject of migrants at the door of the European Union, the sovereign pontiff blasted Europe, believing that it was “torn by nationalist selfishness”.
It was on his first day in Athens that Pope Francis made these remarks: “ The European community, torn apart by nationalist selfishness, sometimes appears blocked and uncoordinated, instead of being a motor of solidarity “.
Arrived at the end of the morning this Saturday in the Greek capital, the sovereign pontiff spoke before the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou and the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as well as an audience of Catholic figures and civil society who l applauded warmly at the presidential palace in Athens.
I would like to urge once again for a global and community vision of the migration issue and to insist on paying attention to the most disadvantaged
Pope Francis during a speech in Athens, Greece.
His speech is in addition to that given the day before in Cyprus, where the Pope lambasted ” the wall of hate »Raised against the migrants, of which fifty will be transferred to Rome, according to Nicosia.
After Athens, the Pope will travel to Lesbos, the Greek island which has been facing a strong influx of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea for several years.
► To read also: Before the arrival of the Pope in Lesbos, we improve the reception conditions of migrants a little
In addition to the migration issue, Pope Francis also noted this Saturday “ a decline in democracy, and not only on the European continent “, And considered that” democracy requires everyone’s participation and involvement “, when ” authoritarianism is hasty and the easy assurances offered by populisms seem tempting “.