By Hajer M'tiri
STRASBOURG
Pope Francis has described Europe as a "grandmother, no longer fertile and vibrant" during the first visit of a sovereign pontiff to the European Parliament in 26 years.
Addressing the institution on Tuesday, the 77-year-old Pontiff referred to Europe as being aged with a struggling economy, high unemployment rates and immigration and said it needed to be reinvigorated.
He warned: "The world becomes less and less Euro-centric ... Europe seems to give the impression of being somewhat elderly and haggard."
The Pontiff told Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) that one of the most common diseases in Europe was loneliness and he wanted to send a "message of hope and encouragement to all the citizens of Europe".
He said the future of Europe depended upon a recovery of the "vital connection between transcendence and practicality".
"My hope is that Europe ... will rediscover that youthfulness of spirit which has made this continent fruitful and great," he later told the Council of Europe.
- 'Respect dignity'
Turning to the attempts by poor and desperate migrants to reach Europe by boat, Pope Francis called for a "united response" to migration.
"We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery," he said - referring to life loss often caused by illegal human trafficking - and added that the boats landing daily on the shores of Europe were "filled with men and women who need acceptance and assistance".
Pope Francis also emphasized the need to promote human rights culture and respect dignity.
"To give Europe hope means more than simply acknowledging the centrality of the human person. The promotion of human rights is central to the commitment of the EU to advance the dignity of the person, both within the Union and in its relations with other countries," he declared.
"It is 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," Pope Francis said.
- 'Curiosity and enterprise'
Speaking at the Council of Europe - an international organization promotes democratic values separate to the European Union - Pope Francis called on Europe to work for solutions to divisions and conflict for a peaceful continent.
He asked: "Where is your vigor? Where is that idealism which inspired and ennobled your history? Where is your spirit of curiosity and enterprise? Where is your thirst for truth, a thirst which hitherto you have passionately shared with the world?
"The future of the continent will depend on the answer to these questions."
Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, welcomed the Pope's speech.
"Whatever our personal beliefs and convictions, our organization, with its representatives of 47 countries, all of differing faiths or atheist or agnostic, is infinitely grateful to you for sharing your thoughts and putting pertinent questions to Europe as regards our vigor, our idealism and our sense of curiosity and enterprise," she said.
- Catholics upset
On unemployment, Pope Francis said Europe needed to promote policies which created employment through "ensuring proper working conditions".
However, many of Strasbourg's Catholics were upset by the fact that he would not meet them nor visit the city's cathedral.
The Pontiff will travel to Turkey on Friday for a three-day visit to lead the Nov. 30th Saint Andrew's Day celebrations.
The last visit by a sovereign pontiff to the European Parliament was on Oct. 8, 1988, when Pope Jean Paul II delivered an address a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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