"The motto of the European Union is United in Diversity. Unity, however, does   
   not mean uniformity of political, economic and cultural life, or ways of   
   thinking. ... I consider Europe as a family of peoples who will sense the   
   closeness of the institutions of the Union when these latter are able wisely   
   to combine the desired ideal of unity with the diversity proper to each   
   people, cherishing particular traditions, acknowledging its past history and   
   its roots, liberated from so many manipulations and phobias. ... At the same   
   time, the specific features of each one represent an authentic richness to the   
   degree that they are placed at the service of all. ... Ladies and Gentlemen,   
   Members of the European Parliament, within this dynamic of unity and   
   particularity, yours is the responsibility of keeping democracy alive for the   
   peoples of Europe. It is no secret that a conception of unity seen as   
   uniformity strikes at the vitality of the democratic system, weakening the   
   rich, fruitful and constructive interplay of organisations and political   
   parties. ... Keeping democracy alive in Europe requires avoiding the many   
   globalising tendencies to dilute reality: namely, angelic forms of purity,   
   dictatorships of relativism, brands of ahistorical fundamentalism, ethical   
   systems lacking kindness, and intellectual discourse bereft of wisdom".   
    Keeping democracies alive "is a challenge in the present historic moment. The   
   true strength of our democracies - understood as expressions of the political   
   will of the people - must not be allowed to collapse under the pressure of   
   multinational interests which are not universal, which weaken them and turn   
   them into uniform systems of economic power at the service of unseen empires.   
   This is one of the challenges which history sets before you today. To give   
   Europe hope means more than simply acknowledging the centrality of the human   
   person; it also implies nurturing the gifts of each man and woman. It means   
   investing in individuals and in those settings in which their talents are   
   shaped and flourish. The first area surely is that of education, beginning   
   with the family, the fundamental cell and most precious element of any   
   society. ... Then too, stressing the importance of the family not only helps   
   to give direction and hope to new generations, but also to many of our   
   elderly, who are often forced to live alone and are effectively abandoned   
   because there is no longer the warmth of a family hearth able to accompany and   
   support them. Alongside the family, there are the various educational   
   institutes: schools and universities. ... Young people today are asking for a   
   suitable and complete education which can enable them to look to the future   
   with hope instead of disenchantment".   
    The Pontiff went on to speak about the defence of the environment, remarking   
   that "Europe has always been in the vanguard of efforts to promote ecology.   
   Our earth needs constant concern and attention. Each of us has a personal   
   responsibility to care for creation, this precious gift which God has   
   entrusted to us. This means, on the one hand, that nature is at our disposal,   
   to enjoy and use properly. Yet it also means that we are not its masters.   
   Stewards, but not masters. ... Respect for the environment, however, means   
   more than not destroying it; it also means using it for good purposes. I am   
   thinking above all of the agricultural sector, which provides sustenance and   
   nourishment to our human family. It is intolerable that millions of people   
   around the world are dying of hunger while tons of food are discarded each day   
   from our tables. Respect for nature also means recognising that man himself is   
   a fundamental part of it. Along with an environmental ecology, there is also   
   need of that human ecology which consists in respect for the person, which I   
   have wanted to emphasise in addressing you today".   
    The second area in which talent flourishes is work. "The time has come to   
   promote policies which create employment, but above all there is a need to   
   restore dignity to labour by ensuring proper working conditions. This implies,   
   on the one hand, finding new ways of joining market flexibility with the need   
   for stability and security on the part of workers; these are indispensable for   
   their human development. It also implies favouring a suitable social context   
   geared not to the exploitation of persons, but to ensuring, precisely through   
   labour, their ability to create a family and educate their children".   
    With regard to the need fro a united response to question of migration,   
   Francis exclaimed, "We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast   
   cemetery! ... The absence of mutual support within the European Union runs the   
   risk of encouraging particularistic solutions to the problem, solutions which   
   fail to take into account the human dignity of immigrants, and thus contribute   
   to slave labour and continuing social tensions. Europe will be able to   
   confront the problems associated with immigration only if it is capable of   
   clearly asserting its own cultural identity and enacting adequate legislation   
   to protect the rights of European citizens and to ensure the acceptance of   
   immigrants. Only if it is capable of adopting fair, courageous and realistic   
   policies which can assist the countries of origin in their own social and   
   political development and in their efforts to resolve internal conflicts - the   
   principal cause of this phenomenon - rather than adopting policies motivated   
   by self-interest, which increase and feed such conflicts.   
    "Awareness of one's own identity is also necessary for entering into a   
   positive dialogue with the States which have asked to become part of the Union   
   in the future. I am thinking especially of those in the Balkans, for which   
   membership in the European Union could be a response to the desire for peace   
   in a region which has suffered greatly from past conflicts. Awareness of one's   
   own identity is also indispensable for relations with other neighbouring   
   countries, particularly with those bordering the Mediterranean, many of which   
   suffer from internal conflicts, the pressure of religious fundamentalism and   
   the reality of global terrorism.   
    "It is incumbent upon you, as legislators, to protect and nurture Europe's   
   identity, so that its citizens can experience renewed confidence in the   
   institutions of the Union and in its underlying project of peace and   
   friendship. ... I encourage you to work to make Europe rediscover the best of   
   itself. An anonymous second-century author wrote that 'Christians are to the   
   world what the soul is to the body'. The function of the soul is to support   
   the body, to be its conscience and its historical memory. A two-   
   housand-year-old history links Europe and Christianity. It is a history not   
   free of conflicts and errors, but one constantly driven by the desire to work   
   for the good of all. We see this in the beauty of our cities, and even more in   
   the beauty of the many works of charity and constructive cooperation   
   throughout this continent. This history, in large part, must still be written.   
   It is our present and our future. It is our identity. Europe urgently needs to   
   recover its true features in order to grow, as its founders intended, in peace   
   and harmony, since it is not yet free of conflicts".   
    "Dear Members of the European Parliament", he concluded, "the time has come   
   to work together in building a Europe which revolves not around the economy,   
   but around the sacredness of the human person, around inalienable values. In   
   building a Europe which courageously embraces its past and confidently looks   
   to its future in order fully to experience the hope of its present. The time   
   has come for us to abandon the idea of a Europe which is fearful and   
   self-absorbed, in order to revive and encourage a Europe of leadership, a   
   repository of science, art, music, human values, and faith too. A Europe which   
   contemplates the heavens and pursues lofty ideals. A Europe which cares for,   
   defends and protects man, every man and woman. A Europe which bestrides the   
   earth surely and securely, a precious point of reference for all humanity".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis at the Council of Europe: imposed peace is not enough - it must be   
   loved, free and fraternal   
    Vatican City, 25 November 2014 (VIS) - At midday the Holy Father proceeded by   
   car to the seat of the Council of Europe, where he met the authorities,   
   including the secretary general Thorbjørn Jagland, who accompanied him to the   
   lobby of the Committee of Ministers. This was followed by an exchange of   
   gifts, after which they entered the Great Hall where, following greetings and   
   the opening discourse by the secretary general, the Pontiff addressed those   
   present, thanking them for their invitation and for their "work and   
   contribution to peace in Europe through the promotion of democracy, human   
   rights and the rule of law".   
    He continued, "This year the Council of Europe celebrates its sixty-fifth   
   anniversary. It was the intention of its founders that the Council would   
   respond to a yearning for unity which, from antiquity, has characterised the   
   life of the continent. Frequently, however, in the course of the centuries,   
   the pretension to power has led to the dominance of particularist movements.   
   ... The dream of the founders was to rebuild Europe in a spirit of mutual   
   service which today too, in a world more prone to make demands than to serve,   
   must be the cornerstone of the Council of Europe's mission on behalf of peace,   
   freedom and human dignity".   
    On the other hand, the road to peace, and avoiding a repetition of what   
   occurred in the two World Wars of the last century, "is to see others not as   
   enemies to be opposed but as brothers and sisters to be embraced. This entails   
   an ongoing process which may never be considered fully completed. This is   
   precisely what the founders grasped. They understood that peace was a good   
   which must continually be attained, one which calls for constant vigilance.   
   ... Consequently, the founders voiced their desire to advance slowly but   
   surely with the passage of time. That is why the founders established this   
   body as a permanent institution. Pope Paul VI, several years later, observed   
   that 'the institutions which in the juridical order and in international   
   society have the task and merit of proclaiming and preserving peace, will   
   attain their lofty goal only if they remain continually active, if they are   
   capable of creating peace, making peace, at every moment'. What is called for   
   is a constant work of humanisation, for 'it is not enough to contain wars, to   
   suspend conflicts ... An imposed peace, a utilitarian and provisional peace,   
   is not enough. Progress must be made towards a peace which is loved, free and   
   fraternal, founded, that is, on a reconciliation of hearts'".   
    Achieving the good of peace first calls for education in peace, "banishing a   
   culture of conflict aimed at fear of others, marginalising those who think or   
   live differently ... Tragically, peace continues all too often to be violated.   
   This is the case in so many parts of the world where conflicts of various   
   sorts continue to rage. It is also the case here in Europe, where tensions   
   persist", he said. "Yet peace is also put to the test by other forms of   
   conflict, such as religious and international terrorism, which displays deep   
   disdain for human life and indiscriminately reaps innocent victims. This   
   phenomenon is unfortunately bankrolled by a frequently unchecked traffic in   
   weapons. The Church is convinced that 'the arms race is one of the greatest   
   curses on the human race and the harm it inflicts on the poor is more than can   
   be endured'. Peace is also violated by trafficking in human beings, the new   
   slavery of our age, which turns persons into merchandise for trade and   
   deprives its victims of all dignity. Not infrequently we see how   
   interconnected these phenomena are. The Council of Europe, through its   
   Committees and Expert Groups, has an important and significant role to play in   
   combating these forms of inhumanity. ... Peace is not merely the absence of   
   war, conflicts and tensions. In the Christian vision, peace is at once a gift   
   of God and the fruit of free and reasonable human acts aimed at pursuing the   
   common good in truth and love".   
    "The path chosen by the Council of Europe is above all that of promoting   
   human rights, together with the growth of democracy and the rule of law. This   
   is a particularly valuable undertaking, with significant ethical and social   
   implications, since the development of our societies and their peaceful future   
   coexistence depends on a correct understanding of these terms and constant   
   reflection on them. ... In your presence today, then, I feel obliged to stress   
   the importance of Europe's continuing responsibility to contribute to the   
   cultural development of humanity.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)