Greg DalyPope Francis has urged Europe to look to how refugees offer the continent new life, while warning against the dangers of Islamist extremists hiding amongst genuine refugees.
He urged Europe to “retake a leadership role in the concert of nations” and to “once again become the Europe which determines the path to follow, because it has the culture necessary to do so”. He said the EU had made a mistake when it had sought to speak of its identity without recognising its Christian roots, and said “it’s time to recover its faith”.
While insisting that refugees could help breathe new life into Europe, the Pope also warned that just 400 km from Italy “there is an incredibly cruel terrorist group” insisting that ”there is a danger of infiltration” to which even Rome is not immune.
However, he said, the need to take precautions should not mean welcomes should be withheld, recalling the biblical injunction, “welcome the foreigner, because you also were a foreigner in the land of Egypt”.
Interviewed by veteran Catholic journalist Aura Miguel for Portugal’s Radio Renascença, the Pontiff also referred to Europe’s stubbornly low birth rate. “When there is an empty space, people try to fill it.” Citing, in particular, Italy, Portugal, and Spain’s low birth rates, he said, “If a country has no children, immigrants come in and take their place.”