Vatican City, Sep 27, 2023 / 06:52 am
To deal properly with the crises it faces, Europe must first have hope, Pope Francis said Wednesday at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
“Hope needs to be restored to our European societies,” the pope said Sept. 27, “especially to the new generations.”
“Our societies, many times sickened by individualism, by consumerism, and by empty escapism, need to open themselves, their souls, and spirits need to be oxygenized, and then they will be able to read the crisis as an opportunity and deal with it positively,” he continued.
During his Wednesday audience with the public, Pope Francis spoke about his Sept. 22–23 visit to Marseille, France, to participate in the “Rencontres Méditerranéennes,” or Mediterranean Encounter, a meeting of bishops, mayors, and young people to confront issues facing the Mediterranean region, including immigration.