Metz, France.– Pope Leo XIV urged Europe this Monday to integrate migrants “as if they were part of one’s own family, offering them the possibility to develop their talents, their capabilities and sensitivities,” although he also noted that those who arrive must “enter into the spirit of the house that welcomes them.”
The pontiff made these statements during a speech in Metz, the final stop of his trip to France, where he participated at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron in the congress To the roots of Europe for peace and unity.
Read more: Leo XIV lands in Paris for his four-day visit to France
The meeting was held in a border city linked to the life of Robert Schuman, one of the founders of the European Union. During his speech, the Pope reviewed the history of the continent and addressed its traditions linked to Catholicism.
Leo XIV recalled the “long and turbulent historical journey” of Europe, but noted that the continent “has been able to assimilate the positive aspects of its past and rethink them in new and creative ways thanks to the encounter with the other”.
“In fact, European civilization is also the fruit of centuries-old encounters, although not always easy ones. Suffice it to think of the presence of Arab culture on the Iberian Peninsula, or the projection of the ‘Old Continent’ towards the ‘New World,’ which generated, sometimes painfully, unprecedented syntheses on the American continent,” he explained.
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Leo XIV on migration
When addressing the current multicultural context, the Pope considered it necessary to have “a rediscovery of one’s own roots and an openness to dialogue with the other.”
He pointed out that Europe is going through “a new stage in its long history of encounters,” marked by the arrival of people fleeing wars and persecution or seeking better living conditions far from poverty and misery.
In that context, Leo XIV recalled the message delivered in June during his visit to the Canary Islands, in Spain.
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“Human dignity demands legal and safe pathways, rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection for victims, serious reception and integration processes, and policies that allow every person to live with dignity in their own land,” he stated.
Integration and onboarding
The pontiff added that welcoming a person “means integrating them as if into one’s own family, offering them the possibility to develop their talents, their capabilities and sensitivities, but also to enter into the spirit of the house that welcomes them.”
Likewise, he called for understanding the historical scope of the phenomenon and defined it as “an unprecedented encounter between peoples and cultures that calls for a creative rediscovery of our roots and, at the same time, an attentive listening to the other.”
“The universality of Europe’s foundational values assures us that this dialogue is possible and that it will be able to provide a solid foundation for our societies, allowing us to work more effectively for peace and for a reconciled world,” he noted.
During his speech, the Pope also addressed secularism and maintained that it “not only implies the non-denominational nature of civil institutions,” but also presupposes collaboration and respect for the autonomy, organization, expression, and freedom of worship of the Churches.
