Pope Francis today asked that the Mediterranean “be a laboratory of peace” in the face of the current “anachronistic and belligerent nationalisms that want to put an end to the dream of the community of nations”, in the speech he gave at the closing of the Meetings of the Mediterranean in Marseille, where he arrived this Friday.
The pontiff traveled to Marseille to participate in the third edition of these meetings, in which some 60 bishops from the area participated along with young people from several countries in the Mediterranean basin.
The Pope has said that “exchanges between peoples have made the Mediterranean a cradle of civilization”
For this reason, he stressed that “in the current sea of conflicts, we are here to recognize the value of the Mediterranean’s contribution, and for it to once again be a laboratory of peace.”
“Because this is its vocation, to be a place where different countries and realities meet on the basis of the common humanity that we all share, and not of opposing ideologies,” he added.
In this sense, he stated the following: “How much need we have for it in the current situation in which anachronistic and belligerent nationalisms want to put an end to the dream of the community of nations!”
“But let us remember, with weapons we wage war, not peace, and with the ambition for power we return to the past, we do not build the future,” said the pontiff.
The pontiff has expressed his concern about the “climate challenge”
The Pope, very concerned about caring for the environment, has also expressed his concern about “the climate challenge”, since in the Mediterranean “these changes are being felt more quickly.”
“How important it is to take care of the Mediterranean maquis, a unique treasure of biodiversity!” he added.
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