Visit of HH Pope Francis to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Extracts from the address in the Formal sitting

statement

Strasbourg

visit

EU - Holy See (T)

SCHULZ, Martin (S&D, DE)

formal sitting

FRANCIS (AR, Pope)

Visit of HH Pope Francis to the European Parliament: extracts from the address in the Formal sitting

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "What dignity can a person ever hope to find when he or she lacks food and the bare essentials for survival and, worse yet, when they lack the work which confers dignity?"

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "the great ideas which once inspired Europeseem to have lost their attraction, only to be replaced by the bureaucratic technicalities of its institutions.Together with this, we encounter certain rather selfish lifestyles, marked by an opulence which is no longersustainable and frequently indifferent to the world around us, and especially to the poorest of the poor." (Applause from the Chamber)

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, " Here I cannot fail to recall the many instances of injustice and persecution which daily afflict religious minorities, and Christians in particular, in various parts of our world. Communities and individuals today find themselves subjected to barbaric acts of violence: they are evicted from their homes and native lands, sold as slaves, killed, beheaded, crucified or burned alive, under the shameful and complicit silence of so many." (Applause from the Chamber)

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "Keeping democracies alive is a challenge in the present historic moment. The true strength of our democracies &ndash; understood as expressions of the political will of the people &ndash; must not be allowed to collapse under the pressure of multinational interests which are not universal, which weaken them and turn them into uniform systems of economic power at the service of unseen empires. This is one of the challenges which history sets before you today."

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "It is intolerable that millions of people around the world are dying of hunger while tons of food are discarded each dayfrom our tables"

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "The time has come to promote policies which create employment, but above all there is a need to restore dignity to labour by ensuring proper working conditions" (Applause from the Chamber.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "There needs to be a united response to the question of migration. We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery!" (Applause from the Chamber.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "Dear Members of the European Parliament, the time has come to work together in building a Europe which revolvesnot around the economy, but around the sacredness of the human person, around inalienable values."(Applause from the Chamber).

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pope Francis, "A Europe which cares for, defends and protects man, every man and woman. A Europewhich bestrides the earth surely and securely, a precious point of reference for all humanity! Thank you!