POPE FRANCIS CALLS FOR UNITY AND DIALOGUE IN EUROPE

Union supporters in Barcelona, Spain, protest the government Oct. 3. (CNS photo/Quique Garcia, EPA)

“Christians are called to promote political dialogue, especially where it is threatened and where conflict seems to prevail,” Pope Francis told 350 participants at an international conference in the Vatican on the Christian contribution to the future of Europe.

“Favoring dialogue, in any form whatsoever, is a fundamental responsibility of politics,” he stated. His remarks came as the biggest political crisis in 40 years unfolded in Spain over a failure to dialogue between the central government in Madrid and the government of the once autonomous Catalonia region in Barcelona. The crisis is also a major challenge to the European Union, where populism and extreme nationalism have emerged strongly in these years.

“Sadly,” Francis observed, “all too often we see how politics is becoming instead a forum for clashes between opposing forces. The voice of dialogue is replaced by shouted claims and demands. One often has the feeling that the primary goal is no longer the common good, and this perception is shared by more and more citizens.”

He drew attention to the fact that “extremist and populist groups are finding fertile ground in many countries; they make protest the heart of their political message, without offering the alternative of a constructive political project.” His words are particularly relevant in Europe today where this phenomenon has gained strength in several countries including Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Holland.

Francis noted that “dialogue is replaced either by a futile antagonism that can even threaten civil coexistence, or by the domination of a single political power that constrains and obstructs a true experience of democracy. In the one, bridges are burned; in the other, walls are erected. Today, Europe knows both!”