VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis is expected to take Europe to task over racial and religious intolerance during a visit to the European parliament Tuesday, as the crisis-hit continent battles with growing populism and the spectre of radicalisation.
It will be the second visit by a pope to the Strasbourg-based parliament – a lightning, four-hour trip which will see Francis address both the European parliament and the Council of Europe.
The pontiff has in the past dubbed Europe a ‘tired’ continent which has lost its way, criticising it for high unemployment, a declining birthrate and poor treatment of the marginalised and elderly by those in thrall to ‘the idol of money’.
The climate has changed greatly since the last papal visit to the French city in 1988, and Vatican watchers say the Argentine pontiff will have to fight harder to be heard in an increasingly secular continent.
The 77-year old had been criticised for neglecting Europe since his election in February last year, preferring to focus on areas of potential growth for the Roman Catholic Church, such as Asia.
He then surprised many by choosing Albania – a poor country outside the European Union – as his first destination, a decision which experts said underlined his desire to see European ideals applied across borders rather than along institutionally-defined lines. Albania was also chosen as a model of inter-religious harmony, a land where religions cohabit successfully amid turmoil in the Middle East and rising intolerance in Europe.
The pope is expected to repeat his call for greater tolerance, social inclusion and dialogue as a recourse to a rise in racism and radicalisation in countries hit hard by the economic crisis and the austerity measures imposed to overcome it.
Nationalist, Eurosceptic and anti-immigration parties in several countries scored victories in European Parliament elections in May on the back of widespread frustration with Brussels.
Europe is also grappling with the departure of hundreds of citizens for Syria and Iraq, where they openly join jihadist groups and urge others to follow. — AFP