Vatican City, Mar 24, 2017 / 12:04 pm
Being disconnected from the values of the past – which upheld the human person and the family – has placed us in a new era of crises, Pope Francis told European leaders. However, he noted, there is hope.
"Europe finds new hope when man is the center and the heart of her institutions," he said March 24. "I am convinced that this entails an attentive and trust-filled readiness to hear the expectations voiced by individuals, society and the peoples who make up the Union."
"Affirming the centrality of man also means recovering the spirit of family," he continued, "whereby each contributes freely to the common home in accordance with his or her own abilities and gifts."
Europe finds this new hope, he emphasized, "When she invests in the family, which is the first and fundamental cell of society. When she respects the consciences and the ideals of her citizens. When she makes it possible to have children without the fear of being unable to support them. When she defends life in all its sacredness."
Pope Francis met with 27 European Union Heads of State and Government, as well as Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament; Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; and Jean-Claude Junker, President of the European Commission at the Vatican.